Dear Bella Swan, you’re Playing with the Big Boys
by Dobber17
Summary: All Human. One day in gym class, Forks High learns that Bella Swan can kick. The football team needs a kicker. The result of that: Bella makes the football team. The problem: None of the guys want a girl on their team. ExB
1. New School

**Dear Bella Swan, You're Playing with the Big Boys**

**Disclaimer-I don't own Twilight**

**Summary- All Human. One day in gym class, Forks High learns that Bella Swan can kick. The football team needs a kicker. The result of that: Bella makes the football team. The problem: None of the guys want a girl on their team.**

**This chapter has been edited by lunar-eclipse95 and Drummer110010101**

Chapter One: New School 

"Passengers, please sit back in your seats and buckle your seat belts. We are about to begin our landing to Port Angeles Airport," the flight attendant shrilled annoyingly.

Forks was too small of a town to have an airport so Charlie, my father and also the Police Chief of Forks, was going to pick me up in Port Angeles.

When my parents got divorced my mom and I moved to Phoenix, but I would spend every summer in Forks with Charlie. The summer before I turned fourteen, my mom wouldn't let me go to Forks since Charlie wouldn't be able to handle a teenage girl with mood swings and hormones. I felt like I was way more mature than my own mother and_ she_ had even told me that countless, but she still thought Charlie wouldn't be able to handle me.

Now that my mother had re-married, I decided to move to Forks and live with Charlie so my mom and Phil could have some time alone. I definitely wasn't a huge fan of all the rain, but I missed my father so much it actually hurt; it had been almost four years since I last saw Charlie. We had talked over the phone during the years but it still wasn't the real thing. Charlie wasn't much of a talker so our conversations never lasted longer than fifteen minutes.

I was jarred out of my thoughts when I felt the wheels on the plane hit the ground. I grabbed my carry-on and patiently waited my turn to get off the plane. Once I reached the baggage claim area, I quickly found Charlie and walked over to him. I was expecting an awkward one-arm hug and back pat, but I was surprised when Charlie wrapped me in a bone-crushing bear hug.

"I've missed you, Bells."

I smiled at the nickname he always used for me whenever I came to visit. "I missed you too, Dad."

Charlie released me and we waited for the conveyer to start bringing out luggage.

"How's Renee doing?" Charlie asked casually. It was no secret to me that Charlie had never stopped loving my mom. It was heart-wrenching to see how happy my mom was with Phil while Charlie stayed heartbroken with no one there to mend it.

"She's doing good. Same as always."

I saw my two navy blue suitcases rounding the corner and Charlie helped me grab them. We left the airport - in Charlie's cruiser, I might add - and quickly made our way to Forks. The drive had minimum conversation. Like I said before, Charlie wasn't much of a talker.

"I was planning on just ordering pizza tonight so you don't have to cook. Is that okay?" Charlie was probably worried that I was one of those girls who refuse to eat actual food and is always on a diet. As if. I loved food too much to ever go on a diet, yet I was still as small as most of those hardcore diet and exercise girls.

"I guess you don't miss my cooking that much," I teased. "But pizza sounds great."

"Ham, green peppers, and extra cheese fine with you?"

I think I started salivating like one of Pavlov's dogs. That was my absolute favourite kind of pizza.

"Father, did you even have to ask?" I tried to sound appalled but from the grin on Charlie's face, I knew it hadn't work. We picked up a medium pizza and ate in the car on our way home. We finally turned onto our street when it was 9:30pm.

"Welcome home, Bella," Charlie told me once we pulled into the driveway. We grabbed my bags from the trunk of the cruiser and brought them up the stairs to my room. As I was opening the door to my room, Charlie cleared his throat.

"Bells, I repainted your room and added some furniture in there. If you don't like it just let me know; I'll change it." It was hard to miss how nervous he sounded.

I finished opening the door and flicked on the light. My room was perfect. Well, not _perfect _perfect, but perfect enough for me. The walls were painted a beautiful shade of rich turquoise-blue. There was a desk with an old-looking computer in one of the corners, and the wooden rocking chair that has always been in my room in another. There was a fair-sized bookcase with only a few books next to the desk and finally, a very comfortable looking twin-sized bed.

"It's perfect. Thank you so much," I told Charlie as I walked into my room and flopped onto the bed. Oh, yes. It was very comfy indeed.

"You know, you're starting school tomorrow so you might want to just unpack some things tonight so you can get a good night's sleep. Also, you're going to have to walk to school since I always leave early in the morning." Charlie hesitated. "Is that okay? It's just a ten minute walk."

"I have no problem walking." As long as it's not raining, I mentally added. "I'll just unpack a bit before taking a shower and going to bed. Night, Dad."

I ended up unpacking both my suitcases before I showered. I really didn't pack that much stuff, so it didn't take me long. I had a quick shower before I crawled into bed and tried to fall asleep.

* * *

Walking the halls of Forks High made me feel like I was a new exhibit at the zoo; everyone was watching me with curious eyes. I made it to my first period class just as the bell was ringing.

"Ah, Miss. Swan. Welcome to Forks High. Please take a seat next to Miss. Brandon so we can begin class," Mr. Smith, my English teacher, welcomed me as he pointed to a girl in the room who I assumed was Miss. Brandon.

I ignored everyone's stares as I made my way over to the pixy-like girl he pointed to. I dropped my bag on the ground and fell very ungracefully into my seat. I mean, it has to take skill to be able to trip on the strap of a bag as you're about to sit.

"Hey, I'm Alice," the girl beside me introduced herself and stuck out her hand.

"Bella," I replied with a smile as I shook her hand.

Mr. Smith cleared his throat loudly. "Now if you're all done staring at Ms. Swan, please turn your attention to the board and copy the questions you will need to answer after reading the first act of Macbeth."

Mr. Smith had been walking towards me as he spoke. He placed a well-worn copy of Shakespeare's Macbeth on my desk before he returned to the front of the classroom. I pulled out a piece of paper and began copying the questions. Once I had all the questions written down, I opened Macbeth and began reading.

Halfway through class Alice slipped me a note.

_What class do you have next?_

I dug my timetable out of my pocket and unfolded it. It was heavily creased from all the times I had unfolded and refolded it in my attempts to memorize my schedule. I was about to write down that my next class was Biology, but Alice just took my timetable out of my hand. She looked like she was making mental notes as she read what my classes were. She nodded to herself before she returned the piece of paper to me.

She began writing something and a moment later, she slipped me another note.

_Do you want to eat lunch with me? _

I nodded and smiled. I think I just made my first friend here in Forks. Alice returned my smile and we turned our attention back to Mr. Smith before we got in trouble for not paying attention. However, a crumpled up piece of paper that flew across the class and landed in the centre of my desk prevented me from paying attention to what Mr. Smith was saying. I looked around the room in confusion and slowly unfolded the paper. Alice snatched the note out of my hands before I had the chance to read a single word on the paper. Her eyes quickly scanned the paper before she angrily scribbled something down on the paper and crumpled it into a ball. She whipped it across the room and it nailed a guy with blond hair square in the back of his head. He reached down and grabbed the paper off the floor and quickly unfolded it. He turned sharply and glared at Alice who easily returned his glare. After a few long moments, he turned his attention to me. Instead of glaring like I thought he was going to, he puckered his lips in my direction and gave me a wink before he turned around to face the front of the classroom.

Um, okay? I shook my head slightly, trying to get rid of the confusion swimming around up there.

"Mike Newton. He's bad news, stay away from him," Alice explained in a whisper as if she had known I had just mentally questioned what had occurred.

"What did his note say?" I was almost afraid of hearing what the answer was going to be.

"Trust me, you don't want to know."

An involuntarily shiver rippled through my body. At first I thought it was from Alice's words but then I realized I was sitting next to an open window. Huh, perfect timing the wind had to create a dramatic effect.

The bell finally rang, signaling that class was over. I shoved my books in my bag and slung it over my shoulder.

"I'll walk you to Biology since it's close to my Chemistry class. Wait outside of your classroom once class is done and we can walk to Gym together," Alice told me as she began leading me through the halls. It only took us a minute to reach my Biology class. I thanked Alice for her help and she replied with a cheerful, "That's what friends are for!"

I took a deep breath before I pushed open the classroom door. There were only a few students in the classroom but they all stopped what they were doing and stared at me. My teacher, Mr. Banner, welcomed me and told me I would be sitting at my own lab table at the back of the classroom. I hurriedly made my way to my seat and prayed Biology would pass quickly.

I suffered through an entire hour of stares before the bell rang. On my way out the door, I accidentally bumped into one of the girls in my class.

"I'm so sorry," I apologized and helped pick up the books scattered on the floor.

"It's okay. I know you didn't mean to."

I gave her a grateful smile and she stuck out her hand.

"Angela Weber," she introduced herself.

"Bella Swan," I replied as I shook her hand. We finished picking up the books and walked out of the classroom. Alice was waiting outside of my classroom and gave us a cheery smile.

"I thought you ditched me!" Alice joked before she turned her attention to Angela. "Want to walk with us to Gym? Bella's in our class too!"

Angela agreed and the three of us waved through the halls. I relied on Alice and Angela to lead me since I had no clue where I was going and because I kept my eyes glued to the floor to avoid seeing everyone staring. Once we were safely in the change room, I raised my head and followed Alice over to a tall, blond-haired girl who had her back to us.

"Rose, this is Bella. Bella, this is my best friend, Rosalie Hale." Rosalie turned to face us when she heard Alice's voice.

Taking one look at her face made my self-esteem drop even further than it already was. She had piercing blue eyes that were framed by impeccably long eyelashes. To put it simply, she could give any model in the world a run for her money. Even in the revolting gym uniform that consisted of a grey shirt with _Fork's Phys. Ed_ on the front and a pair of black shorts, she looked like she was ready for the runway.

"Hi, Bella," she greeted, followed by a blinding smile as she put her hair in a ponytail.

I saw Alice give Rosalie a look to which she immediately nodded. They both looked at me with large smiles plastered on their faces. I tried not to think about what they could be smiling about as I changed into the gym uniform the secretary gave me this morning, along with my timetable.

I left the change room with Alice and Rosalie. We entered the gym and I spotted Angela in the corner, holding hands and talking with a guy I assumed was her boyfriend.

Rosalie followed my gaze. "That's Ben. He and Angela have been dating since sophomore year," she explained with a happy grin.

"They're cute together," I commented before someone began whispering in my ear.

"You know who else would be cute together? Me and you."

I turned around and immediately took two steps backwards when I saw Mike Newton standing with a smile on his face.

"Leave her alone, Mike," Rosalie commanded as she positioned herself between Mike and me.

Mike raised his hands in surrender but was laughing lightly as he backed away. "Oh, by the way, nice legs, new girl." He gave me a wink and made his way over to a group of guys on the opposite side of the gym.

"Bastard," I heard both Alice and Rosalie mutter at the same time.

The three of us made our way to the middle of the gym where most of the people were stretching. That's when the questions began.

"So Bella, where are you from?" Rose asked as she stretched her arm across her chest.

"Phoenix," I replied as I sat on the floor and reached forward to touch my toes.

"What made you move to the little town of Forks?"

"My mother re-married. I decided to move to Forks and live with my dad so my mom and her new husband could travel around for his work and not have to worry about me. My mom always goes with him on his business trips and I'm always left at home, alone. I was planning on being here for the start of the school year but my mom accidentally bought my plane ticket for two weeks into the school year." I rolled my eyes and couldn't stop my rambling. "At the airport, my mom tried to convince me to stay, saying my father wouldn't be able to handle me since he hadn't seen me in four years. I kindly reminded her that it was her fault I hadn't seen my father in so long and that I wasn't going to change my mind. She told me that I wasn't old enough to make my own decisions and her husband and I both assured her that my leaving was going to be for the better. She reluctantly agreed once we had calmed her down enough."

"Aren't you eighteen? You're legally able to make your own decisions." It was easy to hear the curiosity burning in Alice's voice.

"No, I'm seventeen. My birthday is in five weeks." Once the words left my mouth, I instantly regretted it after I saw the devious smiles on Alice and Rose's faces.

"I'm guessing I shouldn't have told you that?" The smiles stayed on their faces as they shared a look between each other.

"Nope," they answered at the same time.

_Great._

Luckily, I was saved from answering more questions I would probably regret answering when the gym teacher, Coach Clapp, walked into the gym, carrying two bags filled with soccer balls.

"Today, we will be playing soccer. Guys, please go easy on the girls, we don't want them to hurt themselves or break a nail." Most of the guys let out a chuckle while some of the girls glared at them and the teacher.

"Our teacher is sexist. He doesn't believe girls can play sports or that girls can do anything better than guys," Rose explained bitterly.

"To see who will be the captains, you have to kick a soccer ball as far as you can. The two people that have the furthest kicks will become the captains. Also, you may only take two steps back."

Our entire gym class left the gym and made our way outside to the soccer field that doubled as a football field. Coach Clapp emptied the two bags of soccer balls and people started taking their kicks.

Most of the balls stopped after twenty or thirty feet since we were only allowed to take two-steps back, not a big running start and because the field was caked in wet mud that prevented the ball from rolling once it hit the ground. Some of the guys managed to kick it thirty or forty feet.

Mike and I were the only two people left to kick. He decided to be cocky and only took one step back instead of two. When he pulled his leg back and kicked the ball, he made it look as if it was the easiest thing in the world. His ball landed a few feet ahead of Tyler's ball that had previously been the furthest kick.

He had a cocky smile on his face as he sauntered towards me. "I'm the place-kicker for the football team. Don't worry; I'll make sure you're on my team." Mike strolled over to where Tyler was standing, most likely assuming Tyler was going to be the other captain.

I grabbed a ball out of the bag and placed it on the ground in front of me. I took my two steps back and pictured Mike's head as the ball. I took my steps forward, planting my left foot beside the ball as I swung my right foot back. I kicked the ball as hard as I could and watched as it flew in the air with a nice arch before it landed a good five feet past Mike's ball.

I turned around to face the class. I snuck a glance at Mike who was absolutely livid while everyone else had shocked looks on their faces.

Alice was the first to recover from her shock. "You can kick, girl!" The rest of the class took a few more moments to register what had happened.

The surprise on Coach Clapp's face was priceless and it took him the longest to recover from his shock. "Well, I guess that makes Michael and Miss. Swan the captains," Coach Clapp stated apprehensively.

Mike and I picked our teams and the soccer game began. I may have been good at kicking, but I failed miserably at trying to play soccer. I learned quickly that if I was passed the ball, I should just nail it down the field, close to the other team's net. I discovered I had no ball handling skills and no defensive skills either.

I sighed in relief when Coach Clapp told us it was time to go change. I walked back to the gym and to the change room with Alice, Rose and Angela. Alice told me to put my books in my locker then go straight to the cafeteria and look for her and Rose. I went to my locker and finally got it open after the fifth try. I put my books away and grabbed the lunch I had hastily made myself this morning.

I stopped just inside the cafeteria doors and scanned the room, trying to find Alice and Rose, a very hard task since the cafeteria was absolutely packed. I finally spotted Alice waving at me, trying to get my attention from one of the tables on the far side of the cafeteria. I began making my way towards the table Alice was sitting at when I noticed that her and Rose were sitting with two guys.

The one sitting next to Rose had black, curly hair and clear, blue eyes that were the exact same shade as Rose's. He wore a pair of simple, black-framed glasses and I had to admit, he was one of those guys who made glasses look sexy. Even though he was sitting down, I could tell he was tall and muscular. He didn't have body-builder muscles or anything, but if you had any common sense, you would not want to get on his bad side.

The other guy who was sitting next to Alice had honey-blond hair and hazel eyes. I could tell he was tall and lanky but I could easily see some of his arm muscle poking out from under the sleeve of his t-shirt.

"Bella, this is Jasper Whitlock, my boyfriend." Alice gestured to the blond boy sitting next to her. "And this is Emmett McCarty, Rose's boyfriend." Alice gestured to the guy sitting next to Rosalie.

"Bella, come sit beside me." To emphasize his point, Emmett patted the seat beside him.

Once I was seated, Emmett and Jasper both started asking me questions. I figured Alice and Rose had told them where I was from and why I moved here because they didn't ask me any of those questions. Apparently, Rose and Alice also told them about my upcoming birthday since Emmett asked me if I was excited for becoming a legal adult. I looked at both Rose and Alice, both of whom looked back at me with innocent looks on their faces. They were definitely planning something.

I was trying to figure out what Rose and Alice could possibly be planning when I heard a smooth, velvety voice. "Sorry, I had to finish the last few questions on my history quiz."

I looked up and towards the owner of the voice. I heard my breath hitch and my eyes glazed over as I looked at the most handsome man I had ever seen. Hmm, handsome may not be a strong enough word here. Godlike seemed to be a good choice to use. I was immediately drawn towards his green eyes that seemed to shine like emeralds. His hair, oh man, his hair was tousled and just begging someone to run their hand through it. His hair appeared to be a medium shade of brown but how the light was currently hitting it, I could see there was a little bit of red in there too. He was muscular, but still lean. His broad, muscular shoulders tapered down into a narrow waist.

I felt the urge to lick my lips that suddenly felt very dry.

Alice's voice broke me out of my daze and I quickly adverted my eyes. "Edward, this is Bella Swan. Bella, this is Edward Cullen."

"Hi," I managed to say once I found my voice.

"Pleased to meet you, Bella." Edward held his hand out toward me. I shyly brought my hand to meet his and a tingle travelled through my hand and up my arm.

We both held onto each other's hand longer than a normal handshake would be. At least, I think it was actually longer and not just my wishful thinking. Once our hands left each other, my hand still tingled the slightest amount.

Edward sat down in the empty seat in front of me and immediately captured my gaze in his. "Where are you from?"

"Phoenix." Knowing the next question would be asking why I moved here, I kept talking. "My mom got re-married so I decided to move here with my dad to give them some alone time."

Edward nodded in understanding before asking his next question. "How do you like your new school?"

I had to think about that for a second. I wanted to say I liked it so far because I had already made friends, but at the same time I couldn't help but think about how Mike Newton was rude and annoying.

"It's okay," I told Edward with a tiny shrug.

I saw Edward's eyes narrow as he looked at something over my shoulder. I turned around and saw Mike Newton staring at me. Once he realized I was looking at him, he blew me a kiss.

"Bella, please tell me Mike isn't in any of your classes." Edward's voice sounded tight and barely controlled.

"English and Gym."

I saw a look of horror quickly appear on Edward's face before a look of frustration appeared.

"She's going to have math with him too," Alice added.

Edward looked at Alice for a few moments before Alice answered his unspoken question. "He was hitting on her in English and at the beginning of Gym."

"Bella, try your best to stay away from Mike. If he wants something, he will try his hardest to get it. If you piss him off in any way, he'll make your life a living hell," Emmett told me in a serious voice. I nodded and thanked him for telling me. Apparently Mike was not a liked guy among this group of friends.

I silently wondered if what happened in gym was enough to piss him off and if I should be prepared for him to make my life a living hell.

"Well Bella, on a happier note, you have Math with Edward and History with Rose and Jasper."

"Man, why don't I get Bella in any of my classes?" Emmett wined and pouted like a five-year-old, causing all of us to burst out laughing.

"Oh, Bella, I just remembered something I was going to ask you during gym. How are you so good at kicking?" Alice asked in wonder.

The guys looked confused and Alice quickly explained what happened in gym before asking her question again.

I took a quick sip of water from my water bottle before I began. "My parents got divorced when I was four and my mom and I moved to Phoenix. I would spend the summers with my dad and the summer I was six, I was playing in the park with my doll. A little boy stole it and I chased him around the park to get it back. He eventually gave it back after I started crying and my dad came over to see what was wrong. Even through I was happy to have my doll back, I was still mad he took it in the first place so I decided to kick him in the shin.

"My dad immediately took me home and reprimanded me about how it wasn't nice to kick people. The next day, he called me into the backyard and I saw him holding a football. He told me he was going to teach me how to kick a football instead of kicking people. It turned into a tradition. Every summer, he would work with me so I could kick the football higher and further than I had the previous summer." I was smiling by the end of my story, remembering how my fun I had with Charlie during the summer.

"Well, speaking of football, we three lovely men at this table are on the football team," Emmett told me with a grin. "I play centre, Jasper is the quarterback, and Edward is a wide receiver."

I grinned. "Very nice."

Lunch continued and many questions were asked. Most of the questions were directed at me but I was able to ask a few questions of my own.

"I hate to break up our little bonding session here, but Edward and Bella, the bell is going to ring soon. You two should probably go now so you will have time to get to both of your lockers." I lost track of time and forgot we were still at school until Rosalie mentioned it.

Edward and I stood up from the table and threw our garbage away. We exited to cafeteria and Edward gestured for me to go ahead of him. "Lead the way."

We wove through halls until we reached my locker that was located in the middle of nowhere. Literally. That's what you get when you come to a new school two weeks into the school year; a crappy locker that is nowhere close to any of your classes.

I grabbed my books out of my locker and tried to shut it. When it wouldn't close, I gave it a good kick. The locker closed and I quickly put my lock on it.

Edward had his eyebrows raised and a smile tugging on the corner of his mouth.

"It doesn't like to close," I explained with a shrug. This morning, when I had tired to close my locker, it wouldn't shut. I'd kept trying to close it but it would never close properly. One of the teachers from a classroom nearby had poked his head out of his door and had told me to try kicking it shut. I had taken his advice, given my locker a good kick, and it'd obediently closed.

I felt a small spark when Edward gently rested his hand on the small of my back, leading me through the halls.

"The only seat left in Math is next to Newton but I can get Mr. Wilson to move you beside me if you want," Edward offered and turned his head sideways to look at me.

"Yes, please," I answered almost too enthusiastically.

Edward chuckled and stopped us in front of his locker. As he was grabbing his books, I noticed the only things he had hanging up in his locker were his football schedule and a picture of him, Emmett, Jasper, Rosalie and Alice huddled close together somewhere outside.

Edward shut his locker and it closed with ease. He replaced his hand on my back and we began walking.

As we neared our classroom, I suddenly felt nervous. "How exactly are you going to convince Mr. Wilson to let me sit beside you?"

"Easy. Mr. Wilson is the football coach and he likes me more than he likes Newton." Edward winked and gave me a crooked smile. I felt my face flush and Edward chuckled lightly.

We stepped into the classroom and Edward dropped his hand from my back. He went up to the teacher who appeared to be in his early thirties and had short, black curls that seemed to stand out everywhere. They talked for about a minute and Edward returned smiling.

"Jessica, please go sit next to Mike. That is going to be your new seat." A girl with brown, frizzy hair stood up, picked up her books and slammed them onto a desk that was three rows up from her original seat.

Edward led me to the seat that Jessica had just vacated. "Rule number one: don't get on Mr. Wilson's bad side. He's a fun guy but you do not want to piss him off."

Class started and I immediately determined that Mr. Wilson was the best teacher ever. As he was writing the note on the board, if someone was confused, he would stop and take the time to explain it fully until everyone got it. He was so unlike my math teacher that I had last year in Phoenix. My teacher last year would hastily write a note on the board, give us our homework questions then leave the room for the rest of class. If someone in our class actually understood and got the note on the board, they would try explaining it and teach it to the rest of the class.

"Miss. Stanley, I suggest you stop writing that note unless you want it to be read to the entire class." Everyone turned to look at Jessica who was obviously surprised that Mr. Wilson had caught her writing a note that wasn't the one he was writing on the board. She threw the note in the recycle bin and Mr. Wilson continued on with his lesson.

After we finished the note, Mr. Wilson handed us a worksheet that would be homework if we didn't finish it in class. I stared at the sheet for a few brief moments before I began struggling my way through it.

"Need help?" I glanced over at Edward and nodded shyly. "What part don't you get?"

"I understand the basic concept but I suck at actually using it to answer a question." I explained how my math teacher in Phoenix wouldn't even take up the homework we had so we would have no idea if we even did the questions right.

Edward did the first few problems on the sheet and walked me through each question step by step. It slowly started making sense and I tried to do the next one.

"Almost right, Bella. You just need to watch your signs." Edward fixed up my question and showed me where I went wrong with my negative signs. I tried the next question, checking it over when I was done before handing it to Edward. Edward grinned and held up his hand for a high five. I giggled and gave him a high five.

In the corner of my eye I saw Mr. Wilson looking at us with an amused expression. I blushed as I realized Edward and I probably looked like idiots, giving each other a high five in math class.

I started working on the next problem, handing it to Edward once I was done. He gave me an approving nod and I worked on the next question. That's how the rest of class went on. After every question, I would show my paper to Edward who would either nod or explain what I did wrong.

We both finished our questions with only a minute left of class. When the bell rang, I gathered my stuff and dug my map out of my pocket. A hand snatched it away before I could take a good look at it.

I looked up to see Edward smiling at me. "I'll walk you to your History class."

I smiled. "Thank you, Edward."

Once I got into my history class, I let out a sigh of relief when I didn't see Mike Newton sitting anywhere. My teacher instructed me to sit next to Angela who was seated behind Rosalie and Jasper. I greeted the three of them and took my seat.

Everyone was silent as we copied a long, tedious note that spanned across three chalkboards and made everyone's hands cramp. Everyone let out satisfied sighs when the bell rang.

I walked to my locker, grabbed the books I needed to take home, kicked my locker shut, and headed out the school doors. I made my way through the maze of cars in the parking lot and started my ten minute walk home. I had only been walking for a minute or so when a red BMW pulled up beside me.

Alice rolled down the passenger side window and stuck her head out. "C'mon, Bella. Get in. We have to get you ready."

"Ready for what?"

* * *

**SNEAK PEEK – Chapter Two**

"She's a girl!"

"Yes Mike, that means she has hooha instead of a dingaling."

* * *

**Here is the first chapter of my new story! I hope you guys enjoyed it.**


	2. Hooha instead of a Dingaling

**Dear Bella Swan, You're Playing with the Big Boys**

**Disclaimer-I don't own Twilight**

**Thank you for all your reviews and support! You guys keep me writing :) **

**This chapter has been edited by Brits23 and Bella_Barbaric.**

Chapter Two: Hooha instead of a Dingaling

"We're going to the football game! It's the only exciting thing to do in this town on a Friday," Alice explained as I climbed into the car.

"Plus, we promised the guys we would be at every game to cheer them on," Rose added from the driver's seat.

Rose drove down the streets of Forks at speeds well over the legal limits. I was surprised when she pulled up in my driveway. I didn't even bother asking how she knew where my house was. Forks was a small town, and everyone knew where everyone lives.

"We're getting ready at my house?" I asked, confused.

"No, just go grab a thicker sweater. It's supposed to get pretty chilly tonight. We'll go to my house and gossip for an hour and a half since the game starts in two hours," Alice told me, as she and Rosalie climbed out of the car with me.

I unlocked the front door and started making my way up the stairs. Alice and Rose followed me up to my room. Alice immediately pranced over to my closet and studied my clothing with a critical eye. After a few moments she shrugged and turned to face me. "Not bad."

"Thanks?" I didn't exactly know if that was a compliment or an insult.

Alice turned back to my closet and started flipping idly through my clothes. She grabbed my thick green hoodie and threw it across the room to me. I pulled the hoodie on over my long sleeved shirt and the three of us made our way back downstairs. I wrote a note for Charlie, letting him know I was going to the football game with Rosalie and Alice before I locked the front door and hopped into Rose's car.

It only took us five minutes to drive to Alice's; a two-story house that looked identical to mine except for the colour. Alice's was white whereas mine was red. The moment we walked through the front door, I could smell cookies baking.

"Hello, girls," a motherly voice sounded from somewhere in the house. I followed Alice and Rose to the kitchen where I saw a woman who looked like an older version of Alice. She had the same smile and sparkle in her eyes as Alice.

"Hey, Mom. This is Bella, Charlie Swan's daughter," Alice introduced with a wave of her hand.

I gave Mrs. Brandon a timid smile and a quiet hello.

"Pleasure to meet you, Bella. I would shake your hand but mine is covered in cookie dough at the moment." Mrs. Brandon gave me an apologetic smile and I assured her it was fine.

Alice skipped to the counter and stole a handful of cookies form the cooling rack. Mrs. Brandon raised her eyebrows and Alice kissed her on the cheek. "Thanks, Mom!"

Alice skipped past Rose and I and we followed her to the living room. Alice and Rose sat down at opposite ends of the couch and patted the space in between them. I tentatively sat down and looked between Rose and Alice, who both had grins on their faces like the cat that swallowed the canary.

"So," Alice drawled out slowly. "Any guy caught your eye yet?"

I blushed as a certain green-eyed hunk entered my mind. "I don't know. I really haven't had a chance to look," I mumbled, avoided any eye contact.

"That's not what it looked like at lunch," Rose sang, making me blush at least two more shades of red.

"What do you mean?" I tried to sound like I had no idea what she was talking about but my voice broke, giving me away.

Rose scoffed at me. "Don't play dumb, Bella. We all saw you and Edward staring at each other."

"Whoa, what?" I knew I was staring at Edward but I had no knowledge of him looking at me too.

Alice rolled her eyes. "Please don't tell me you didn't notice Edward staring at you."

There was no way Edward Cullen was staring at me during lunch. "I honestly didn't," I admitted with an apologetic smile.

"Oh, crap. You're being serious? How could you not notice? His eyes barely left you!" Alice sat up straighter, looking me directly in the eye, and waiting for my answer. I just sat still with my mouth dropped open in shock. "Damn it, Bella. Say something!"

I shook my head to break me out of my shock. "I'm sorry. I'm just trying to digest this. Things like this never happen to me."

Alice growled - yes growled - and looked like she was going to yell at me. Thankfully, Mrs. Brandon chose that moment to pop her head in the room. "Alice, Rose, stop making Bella uncomfortable."

I released a breath I hadn't realized I was holding. "Thank you, Mrs. Brandon."

Mrs. Brandon gave me a maternal smile. "You're welcome, dear." The timer on the oven went off and Mrs. Brandon gave a stern look at her daughter before she retreated into the kitchen.

Rose and Alice reluctantly stopped talking about Edward, but not before promising that this conversation was far from over. They filled me in on some of the town gossip. They told me who's dating, who's hating, and who to avoid at all costs. It was a surprise when Mike Newton's name was on the list of who to avoid at all costs. Notice the sarcasm?

Eventually, it was time to start getting ready. Alice and Rose wanted to put makeup on me, but I quickly vetoed that idea. Truthfully, I was one of those girls who didn't really like make-up. Sure, I wore cover-up and a little bit of mascara, but that was it. Oh, and when I really felt like pulling out the big guns, I threw on some eye-liner too.

We cranked up the tunes as we sped back to school. We were belting out songs and even dancing in our seats. By the time we reached the school, all three of us were out of breath but none of us cared. We made our way to the back of the school where the football field was. I was surprised to see how packed the stands were. I guess Alice wasn't kidding when she said this was the only interesting thing to do in Forks on a Friday. We found decent seats near centre field and waited in excitement for the game to start.

"It's the first game of the season. Emmett is fifty-five, Jasper is eight and Edward is seventeen. Emmett, Ben, and Austin are the three captains and they are playing the North Olympia Vikings," Rosalie informed me, as our three captains and North Olympia's four captains met at centre field.

I didn't even bother watching what was happening at centre field, I was scanning the sidelines for number seventeen. Okay, so I may have been acting kind of stalkerish but seriously, who doesn't want to look at a hot guy's butt while he is wearing his tight football pants? Not me, that's for damn sure. I found Edward sitting on the bench and I silently begged him to stand up. Emmett, Ben and Austin made their way back to the sideline and the entire team stood up. I nearly died as I stared at Edward. It was an absolutely wonderful sight; and I suppressed the urge to start fanning myself.

I heard Alice laughing beside me. I shot her a quizzical glance and she just gave me a sympathetic pat on the arm. "I did the same thing the first time I watched Jasper." I blushed, skipping pink and going straight to red. I cleared my throat in embarrassment and heard Alice and Rosalie's laughter.

Whoops and cheers were heard from both benches. Players rushed onto the field and took their positions. Whatever happened during the coin toss, North Olympia was getting the ball first, meaning Mike had to kick it to them. Mike raised his hand and dropped, signaling his teammates to start running. Mike kicked the ball deep into North Olympia's zone, all the way to their seven-yard-line. One of North Olympia's players caught the ball and started running it up the field. He was tackled by one of our guys at North Olympia's twenty-eight yard line; ending the first play of the game. Our team was surprisingly good. You would think that the team wouldn't be that good because Forks is such a small town and there wouldn't be as many people to pick from.

We were up fourteen-to-seven at half. Our two touchdowns were from Edward and Tyler. Jasper had thrown a perfect spiral pass to Edward who caught the football effortlessly in the corner of North Olympia's end zone. Tyler's touchdown was a twenty-yard sprint to the end zone.

Five minutes into the third quarter, we were fourth and eight with only twenty-five yards to go. We were going to attempt the field goal instead of punting the ball. Mike ran out and got ready to kick. Edward was kneeling and had his hands in front of him, ready to catch the ball. The ball was snapped back and Edward caught it perfectly before he placed the tip of the football on the ground. Mike kicked the ball a split second before he was tackled to the ground. Mike's kick was good but everyone's attention was on Mike. Even from a distance, you could tell that he landed wrong. Everyone in the stands cringed as Mike's agonizing screams reverberated across the entire field. A sports medic rushed onto the field and a few minutes later Mike was carried off.

"No one else on the team can kick. Ben is only good at punting; he can't make a field goal to save his life!" Alice exclaimed and started biting her nails nervously.

"A little faith in our guys would be nice, Alice! Rose snapped, but I could see the uneasiness in her eyes.

The game continued and the other team was able to get a touchdown in the fourth quarter. Luckily, we were still winning thanks to Mike's field goal. Our guys were able to hold them off for the remaining minutes of the game to claim the win.

Rose, Alice and I left the stands but instead of walking towards the parking lot like I thought we would; Alice and Rose walked towards a swarm of people that were gathered around the school. When I mentioned this, Alice kindly explained that that was where the guys came out once they were done changing.

"Plus, we always go out for pizza with the guys after their games so we're obligated to wait for them," Rose added.

"Oh, I didn't bring my wallet," I admitted with a frown, feeling guilty.

"Don't worry about it, Bella. Emmett always buys if they win," Rose assured me.

During our conversation a steady rain had begun to fall from the gloomy sky. I looked over to where the huge crowd was, unprotected from the rain. I glanced up at the sky then behind me to look at the back doors of the school. Part of the school extended over the doors, acting as a shield against the rain.

"I'll just go wait under there," I told Rose and Alice, pointing over my shoulder to the back doors. They nodded before continuing their way towards the crowd.

By the time I reached the safety of the back doors, the rain was pouring fast and hard, and thunder began booming overhead. I leaned against one of the doors and felt myself starting to zone out as I stared out into the rain. I don't know how long I was standing there when a voice startled me.

"Let me guess, you're not a big fan of the rain?" I whipped my head towards the voice. Edward was standing a few feet away from me with a small smile on his lips.

"No, not really," I admitted with a shrug. "It just makes things seem so depressing and moody."

Edward looked out into the dark rain that fell in heavy sheets. "I know what you mean. On the bright side, after tonight it isn't supposed to rain for four days," he told me cheerfully.

"Really? Four whole days?" I asked, my voiced laced with sarcasm.

Edward rolled his eyes. "You can just shut your pretty little mouth over there," he teased with a smile.

I didn't have a response to that. It was just so unexpected… and nice to hear. Luckily Emmett appeared and saved me from trying to figure out the proper response. "Stop flirting over here. It's pizza time. Let's go." Emmett didn't wait for us as he sprinted into the rain.

A smile slowly crept its way onto Edward's face as he pulled my hood over my head and grabbed my hand. We ran into the rain and were halfway to the parking lot when a load roar of thunder surrounded us. I shrieked in surprise. I could hear Edward's laughter over the roaring thunder.

Rose's BMW was idling next to a massive red jeep. I flat out sprinted to the BMW, wrenched the door open and dove into the backseat.

I looked at Rose and Alice, gasping. They barely held any traces of being caught in the rain. Their makeup was intact and their hair was totally dry. Rose was concentrating on her driving as she pulled out of the parking lot but Alice looked at me in the rear-view mirror and started snickering. "Umbrellas are wonderful inventions, Bella."

My mouth dropped open in shock. "You guys had umbrellas with you!"

Alice rolled her eyes. "Purses are wonderful inventions too."

It was a quick drive to the pizzeria and Rose and Alice chose to forgo their umbrellas as we made our way inside. We followed the sound of Emmett's booming laughter and found the guys sitting in a booth in the back corner of the pizzeria.

Alice slid in first so she was sitting across from Jasper. Rosalie pushed me in next before she sat down across from Emmett. I grimaced when I realized I was stuck in the middle and Edward shot me a sympathetic look from across the table.

The waitress came to our table and took one look at us before asking, "The regular?" everyone nodded their heads and the waitress walked away.

"What's the regular?" I asked.

"Large pepperoni and cheese, medium deluxe pizza, two large plates of fries and five cokes, but in this case, six cokes," Jasper answered with a huge smile on his face, obviously eager for the food.

The six of us started talking about the game. When I congratulated the guys on an amazing buttonhook play, all three of their jaws dropped.

"You understand football?" Emmett asked in shock.

I nodded, remembering all the times I would watch football with my dad when I was younger. "Yes."

Emmett's eyes grew wide. "Marry me." I burst out laughing while Rose glared at Emmett from across the table. "Rosie, honey, I'm sorry but she _understands_ football," Emmett tried to defend himself.

Thankfully for Emmett, the waitress came with the food, stopping him from shoving his foot in his mouth any further.

We all grabbed a few pieces and piled them onto our plates. I had only taken a few bites of my pizza when my foot accidentally brushed against someone's leg.

I looked across the table and Edward had his eyebrows raised. "If you wanted to play footsies, all you had to do was ask," he teased with a smile. I blushed and the other four stopped eating and stared at us with amused expressions.

"So, I ask you to marry me and you decide to play footsies with Edward? Way to break my heart, Bella," Emmett said with a pout appearing on his lips. Emmett finally forgave me after numerous apologies and a promise to come to every single home game that the guys had.

As cheesy as it sounds, I honestly felt like I had known Alice, Rose, Edward, Jasper and Emmett for years, not one day.

"So, what actually happened to Mike?" Alice asked as she finished her first piece of pizza.

"Don't know for sure, but Coach guessed he tore his ACL," Edward said before hungrily attacking his pizza.

"What are you guys going to do? Mike was the only one who could make a field goal." Rose stressed the word field goal, proving to Emmett that she did, in fact, understand a bit of football.

"Coach is holding a tryout tomorrow at four in the afternoon. Since Forks is a small town, he's hoping news will have spread by then so everyone who wants to try out will be there. Unfortunately, all the good players are already on the team but we're hoping someone who shows up will have a secret kicking talent." Emmett's voice held no hope and I couldn't help but feel bad for the guys.

After that, we kept the conversation cheerful with a lot of friendly banter.

Jasper looked as if he was about to fall asleep at the table, even though he wouldn't admit it. Emmett didn't look far behind so we decided to call it a night. Emmett paid and we all made our way outside. The rain was still pounding down so we said our goodbyes quickly and jumped into the safety of our vehicles. Rose started the car and cranked up the heat. She glanced at me in the rear-view mirror as she sped down the streets that led to my house. "I think you should try out Bella, you're a pro at kicking things."

I let out a snort of laughter. "You want me to try out for the football team?"

"Bella, we saw you kick in Gym class, you can do it." Alice turned around in her seat so she was facing me.

"Me plus football, or any other sport for that matter, equals disaster," I tried to explain.

"You don't know that for sure, Bella. Just think about it, you would get to see Edward, up close, in his tight pants." Alice winked and I blushed.

"Who says I would want to see Edward in his tight pants?" I countered.

Alice gave me an 'are-you-shitting-me' look.

I sighed. "Okay, maybe I do."

"There is no harm in trying. They guys might even enjoy having a girl on the team." I looked apprehensively at Alice. She gave me a puppy-dog look and I debated with myself the pros and cons of trying out for the team.

Rose and Alice saw my wavering and attacked full force. Several minutes and a few puppy-dog faces later, I gave in and told them I would try.

* * *

Charlie wanted to see the tryouts but he had to work. He was proud of me for trying out and getting involved. He wished me luck, for the fifth time in twenty minutes, and walked out the front door.

I was getting anxious. The more I thought about it, the more I hated Rose and Alice for pressuring me into it. It was only 11:30 and Alice and Rosalie were coming to pick me up at 3:45. I decided to clean the house to try to get my mind off of it. I swept the floors, cleaned the bathroom, dusted everywhere, organized the foods in the cupboards, and everything else possible. By the time 3:45 rolled around, I was pacing in the kitchen. When I saw Rose and Alice pull up, I was met with another wave of nervousness. I sat down in one of the kitchen chairs. _What the hell am I thinking? I can't do this!_

The front door was unlocked and Rose and Alice walked in. They took one look at me and wordlessly dragged me out to the car. Instead of turning the car on, Rosalie turned around and glared at me. "Bella, you're making _me_ nervous. Stop doubting yourself!" Once I apologized to Rosalie for making her nervous, she started the car.

We got to the school and made our way over to the field. It looked like the entire football team was gathered on the field, waiting to watch the tryout. I glanced towards the stands and saw that there were a few people who had come to watch.

I visibly gulped. My hands got slick and my stomach knotted up.

Emmett, Jasper and Edward had spotted us and were jogging over. Jasper bent down to kiss Alice and Emmett followed suit by kissing Rosalie. I looked anywhere but the two couples and shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot. Edward cleared his throat awkwardly and I resisted the urge to glance at him.

"What bring you three lovely ladies here today?" Emmett asked. He and Rose had finished kissing and he had slung his arm casually around Rose's shoulders.

"We came to cheer Bella on," Rose told him with an excited smile.

At first they looked confused, until realization slowly sunk in. Large smiles crept onto each other their faces.

Rose and Alice wished me luck before making their way to the stands, leaving me standing with the three guys.

"This is awesome," Jasper said as he slung his arm around my shoulder and started walking with me towards the middle of the field.

As we approached, the football team's loud talking had turned into quiet murmurs. Mr. Wilson looked at me quizzically and I nervously explained I wanted to try out. The football team burst out laughing and I looked down to the ground in embarrassment. I retreated one small step backwards, almost as if I was going to turn and make a run for it, but Jasper tightened his arm around my shoulder and pulled me forward a few steps.

I glanced toward Mr. Wilson, expecting him to be laughing too. Instead, I saw a small smile on his lips. I had no idea if it was a smile of amusement or a smile that I was going to tryout. Regardless, he walked over to me and explained how the tryouts would work. You had three chances to kick a football from ten feet. If you couldn't get the ball in after three tries, you were out. After each round, you moved back five feet and got another three chances. The last one standing, the one who could kick the furthest, would win and get the spot on the team. There were four of us trying out, Eric Yorkie, Lee Thomson, Winston Smith, and myself.

Honestly, I was nervous, and just my luck, Mr. Wilson believed in the saying "ladies first."

The only part the calmed me down slightly was that Edward was going to be the holder; the person who holds the football in place for the kicker. He was carrying a mesh bag full of footballs and was walking with down the field towards the ten-yard line. Mr. Wilson along with Eric, Lee and Winston, were a good twenty feet behind us as they followed us down the field.

"Nervous?" I glanced at Edward and raised my eyebrows. Edward gave me a sympathetic smile. "Sorry, stupid question."

Edward took a football out of the bag and knelt down on the field. He gave me a reassuring smile before he placed the ball on the ground. I took a few steps backwards and one to the left. I took a deep breath before charging forward and kicking the football with my laces. The ball effortlessly flew through the bright yellow goalposts.

I felt my eyes go wide as saucers. _I just kicked a field goal. I JUST KICKED A FUDGIN' FIELD GOAL!_

I heard Emmett's whooping cheers coming from the middle of the field where the rest of the football team was watching. Edward was chuckling, most likely because of the expression on my face, but a smile stayed in place on his lips.

Edward took another ball out of the bag and I moved out of the way so Eric could take his turn. His first attempt was too low but he got it through on his second try. Lee got his kick on the first try but his had a massive curve, almost making the ball sail wide of the posts. Winston was, hands down, the worst kicker. He took a fifteen-step running start and when he swung his leg to kick, he missed the ball and almost kicked Edward in the face. I flinched as Winston attempted to kick the ball and almost kicked Edward two more times. Edward looked relieved when Mr. Wilson told Winston his three tries were up.

We moved back another five yards, to the fifteen-year line. Mine sailed through easily, once again, and I felt myself calming down a bit. Maybe I _could_ do this.

Eric's kick barely made it through the posts and Lee's first kick sailed a good twenty feet wide of the posts. His second kick was only a few feet wide and his third kick was an inch away from going wide, but it was still good.

Eric got eliminated at twenty yards, leaving Lee and I left. Instead of going to the twenty-five, Mr. Wilson had us go all the way to the thirty. I watched in horror as my kick fell short of the goalposts. That was the first kick that I had missed. I heard cheers coming from the middle of the football field. The guys were happy I missed. I swallowed the lump forming in my throat.

"Take another few steps back," Edward advised as he placed a football on the ground. "You got this."

I took a few extra steps back before I kicked the ball as hard as I could. It flew slightly to the left but it was still a good kick. I let out a sigh of relief and watched as Lee missed his first kick. And his second. And his third.

I heard Alice's squeals from the stands, which were quickly drown out by Emmett's cheers.

Mr. Wilson walked over to me with a smile on his face. "Congratulations, Bella. Practice Monday, right after school."

All I could do was smile.

Edward grabbed the ball bag and slung his other arm around my shoulders. We made our way to the rest of the team. Almost all of them looked royally pissed and were glaring at me. I flinched from the intensity of their stares.

"Bella is our new kicker," Mr. Wilson announced authoritatively to the team.

Mike hobbled forward on crutches; I hadn't even noticed he was here. "Whoa, hold on. Bella cannot take my spot," he spat.

Mr. Wilson narrowed his eyes. "Mike, she's an amazing kicker and I'm the coach. She's on the team."

"But she's a girl!"

_Wow, aren't you Captain Obvious._

"Yes, Mike, that means she has a hooha instead of a dingaling," Emmett explained slowly for him before taking a protective stance beside me.

"Thank you, Emmett, for that wonderful observation," Mr. Wilson congratulated Emmett with a small grin.

One of the other guys decided it was time to let his thought be known. "Football is a man's sport, coach. You can't expect a little girl to be able to play a man's sport."

Oh. I felt a crease form in my forehead and I wrung my hands in front of me, suddenly feeling very out of place.

"Plus, no one will take us seriously if we have a girl on the team," another guy added.

The first guy spoke again, "I refuse to be the laughing stock of the other teams." All the other guys yelled their opinions and I felt the lump in my throat come back.

Mr. Wilson silenced the team. "Bella is on the team and I do not want to hear a single complaint."

After he looked at every guy on the field, he let us go. Edward didn't move his arm from around my shoulders as he started walking. "Bella, don't listen to those guys, they are all idiots." Emmett and Jasper threw in their two cents about the other guys on the team and told me to not let any of what they said get to me.

I nodded to show I heard them but I kept my eyes glued to the ground. Today just felt like a huge slap in the face. It was impossible not to hear the football team's words repeating themselves in my head.

"Just remember, you'll always have the three of us as your team mates and your protectors." Emmett's words allowed a small smile to grace my face. At least I would have the three of them to help me survive the football season.

Rose and Alice pulled me into a double hug once we reached them. "We're going to celebrate!" Alice announced.

"With food?" Emmett asked with an excited smile.

"No, with pedicures," Alice corrected.

"And food?" Emmett prompted.

Alice looked like she was having an internal debate. "Maybe with ice cream," she admitted.

"Dudes, we are so celebrating with the ladies," Emmett boomed and raised his fists in victory.

We decided to go to Alice's house to celebrate since she had the biggest television. The moment we got into the house, Emmett sprinted to the kitchen and ripped open the cupboards. "I'm hungry," he whined.

"I'll go make something," I offered. Cooking was distracting, and I needed a distraction to get my mind off of my horrible day.

"Bella, don't worry about it. We'll order something," Jasper told me as he grabbed take-out menus from one of the drawers in the kitchen.

"I insist."

"Bella, this celebration is for you!" Alice whined.

"Okay, I'll celebrate by making you guys food," I stressed, trying to make them understand that I really wanted to keep myself busy by cooking.

"Bella, just relax and let us deal with the food," Edward joined in.

Emmett was watching the whole discussion like it was a ping-pong game and when he joined in, he was on my side. "Guys, shut up. She _wants_ to make us food."

I gave Emmett a thankful smile, and he returned it with a wink. "Exactly. Listen to Emmett."

"I never thought I would live to see the day where someone told me to listen to Emmett," Jasper mused out loud before sprinting out of the kitchen as Emmett looked for something to throw at him.

After insisting for another five minutes that I wanted to make food, everyone finally let me. I explored the Brandon's cupboards to see what they had. I finally decided on making lasagna and a salad.

Edward walked into the kitchen just after I had put the lasagna in the over and was starting on the salad. "Need any help?"

I looked around to see if there was anything I needed help with. "No, I think I've got everything covered. Thanks."

"Am I allowed to just sit in here and talk to you?" I glanced at Edward over my shoulder and nodded. He took a seat in one of the chairs around the kitchen table. "Favourite food?"

"What?"

"Excuse me for making conversation and wanting to know what your favourite food is."

I looked over at Edward and saw him smiling. I shook my head slightly and thought of my answers. "Hmm, well I like a lot of different foods. If I had to pick only one I guess I would pick grilled cheese."

Edward got up from his chair and leaned on the counter beside me. "Grilled cheese?"

I finished the salad and turned to face Edward. "What's wrong with grilled cheese? It's delicious, quick to make, and can be eaten at any time of the day."

Edward's eyes were filled with amusement. "You are full of surprises."

"Fine, what is your favourite food?"

"Waffles." I raised my eyebrows. And he said I was full of surprises. Not steak, or chicken, or pizza. Waffles.

"They're delicious, quick to make, and can be eaten at any time of the day," he explained with a cheeky grin.

That's how it all began. Edward and I spent the next little while in the kitchen quizzing each other about our favourite things. It felt normal and comfortable. There were no awkward times. We would constantly laugh or make fun of each other's answers. The timer on the oven went off just as Edward told me about his dislike of Poptarts. Seriously, who doesn't like Poptarts?

I put on oven mitts and pulled the lasagna out of the oven. I heard footsteps quickly approaching and I quickly moved away from the food in case the footsteps belonged to Emmett.

"Food!" Emmett cried in sheer delight as he charged into the kitchen. He cut himself a piece and shoveled it into his mouth. "Hot, hot, frickin' hot! Everyone else had arrived to the kitchen in time to see Emmett's display.

"Yes, Emmett, things that come out of the oven tend to be hot." Emmett didn't even acknowledge Jasper's comment as he turned on the tap and started chugging the cold water.

Dinner went smoothly after that. We were currently sitting in the living room and Alice was picking out the perfect nail polish colours. Alice finally decided on a light pink for herself, Rosalie picked gold, and I decided on red. The boys busied themselves by playing video games as we painted our toenails.

Emmett kept glancing toward the kitchen, more specifically the freezer where the ice cream was.

"If you want ice cream you're going to have to rub my feet," Rose claimed after she caught Emmett looking for the fourth time. I saw Jasper and Edward share a look and Rose apparently saw it too. "Jasper, Edward, don't you dare step foot in that kitchen! This includes you guys too."

Emmett and Jasper began giving Rose and Alice their foot massages. Even though Rose practically demanded them to, I could tell that Emmett and Jasper were actually enjoying it. Edward tentatively sat down in front of me and picked up my right foot. He dug his thumbs into the arch of my foot and I bit my lower lip to prevent me from crying out in pain. I could tell Edward was trying, so I clamped my lips shut and willed Edward with my mind to press lighter.

"Bella, what's wrong? Your foot is ram-rod straight; it isn't relaxed at all," Edward asked, sounding panicked.

"Too hard," I squeaked out. Edward immediately let go of my foot and gave me an apologetic look.

"Move over Eddie boy, let me show you how it's done." Emmett cracked his knuckles and picked up my foot. Surprisingly, for a guy made of all muscle, Emmett's hands were extremely gentle and soft. I shut my eyes in content and leaned back on the couch.

"Alright, Edward, lets see how horrible these foot massages are." _Three… Two… One…_"Ow, ow, Edward, please stop," Rosalie begged.

"Edward, don't you dare come close to my feet," Alice warned.

"I didn't think they were that bad," Edward mumbled sadly. I opened my eyes and gave Edward a sympathetic smile. Yes, his foot massages were horrible but he got points from me for trying…and because he's cute…and he's hot…and because he looks great in tight football pants.

Alice decided to let Edward pick the movie to make him feel a bit better about the fact that he was not the greatest at giving foot massages. Rose and I went to make popcorn while Edward was picking out the movie. When we came back Rose took one of the bowls of popcorn and joined Emmett on the couch, I gave another bowl to Alice and Jasper who were snuggled together on the floor, and placed the third bowl on the side table beside the lone chair that Edward would probably be sitting in.

I sat down on the floor, close to the chair so that I could reach the popcorn bowl. Edward appeared in the hall, probably returning from the bathroom, and looked from me to the empty chair. "Bella, take the chair."

"Don't worry, Edward, I'm okay. You can sit in the chair." I gave Edward a smile and patted the empty chair cushion.

Edward shook his head. "Bella, take the chair," he repeated.

I shook my head. Edward sighed before bending down, picking me up, and putting me in the chair. I got out of the chair and tried - very unsuccessfully - to push Edward into the chair.

"It's my house and I say you share the damn chair!" Alice may be tiny, be she could be scary when she wanted to be.

Edward sat down on the chair and moved as far to the right as he could. I sat in the empty space next to him and draped my legs over Edward's lap and the armrest. I mean, it wasn't the most comfortable position, but it was better than sitting on the floor.

"Don't get too cozy over there you two," Emmett warned with a stern glance. Edward rolled his eyes and a small giggle escaped from my lips. Alice shushed us all and started the movie.

"Are you comfortable?" Edward whispered, turning his head to look at me.

"Yes," I assured him with a smile. "Are you?" Alice shushed us, again, and Edward rolled his eyes before he nodded in response to my question.

A few moments after the opening credits ended, I felt Edward shift slightly, wrapping one of his arms around my waist. I snuck a quick glance at Edward. He was watching the movie but I saw a small grin forming on his face. Edward glanced over at me and caught me staring at him. I quickly turned my attention back to the television while blushing at least three shades of red.

* * *

**SNEAK PEEK – Chapter Three**

**Right then, I changed my opinion of rain. I didn't hate it anymore; I loved it. When it's raining, no one can tell you're crying.

* * *

Let me know what you think by clicking on that tempting blue font...**


	3. Learning to Love the Rain

**Dear Bella Swan, You're playing with the Big Boys**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. **

**Edited by SCprincessSC, Someone aka Me, Kimberley Ball, and Kayla Cullen.**

Chapter Three: Learning to Love the Rain

I woke up thinking I was in my bed. I quickly realized that wasn't the case when I found myself sitting up instead of lying down. My mind slowly started to work, but I didn't open my eyes. Both my neck and back were completely stiff, and my head was rested on something warm and comfortable.

"Aww, they look so cute!" I heard Alice say.

Wait, Alice?

Then it clicked. I had fallen asleep at Alice's house. I peeked through one eye and discovered that Edward and I had fallen asleep in the chair. My head was rested on his shoulder, and his head rested on top of mine. I bit back a smile when I noticed the dried patch of drool in the corner of his mouth. I had my legs draped over his lap and the armrest, and Edward, at some point, had wrapped both of his arms securely around my waist.

"Shh, we don't want to wake them up."

"That must be uncomfortable."

"Guys, just let them sleep." Bless Emmett and his words of wisdom. I heard footsteps retreating, followed by the sound of cupboards opening and closing.

Edward groaned quietly and briefly tightened his arms around my waist. "Bella, are you awake?" he asked, his voice rough and husky from sleep.

"Yeah," I whispered quietly, still not opening my eyes.

Edward didn't make a move to get up, and I figured he was waiting for me to move first. I started to extract myself, but was immediately pulled back down by Edward.

"Way too comfy. Five more minutes," Edward murmured into my neck. I nodded my head in agreement and felt my face heat up.

After an immeasurable amount of time, I smelled bacon. My stomach growled loudly, and I opened my eyes. Edward looked like he was asleep, and I gently shook him. He stirred lightly and his handsome green eyes fluttered open. "Hmm?"

"I smell food. I'm getting up," I told him.

"Okay," he mumbled, and closed his eyes again.

"Edward?"

"Mhm?"

"I kinda need you to let go of me, so I can get up."

Edward lifted his eyelids and looked down at my waist where he had his arms wrapped snugly around me. "Oh, sorry." He slowly removed his arms, and I felt my back scream in agony as I extracted myself from both Edward and the chair. I twisted my back slightly and the sound of my back popping filled the air. Edward chuckled before he hoisted himself up to his feet. He groaned quietly as his back popped multiple times, and he started rubbing his neck.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"I think I pulled my sternocleidomastoid," Edward admitted, wincing as he rolled his neck from side to side.

"Wow, big word. I'm impressed," I teased. Well, half-teased. Anyone who could use big words coherently in the morning impressed me.

"I try my best." Edward gave me a cheeky grin before heading towards the kitchen. I followed him and found Emmett, Jasper and a man I assumed to be Mr. Brandon cooking breakfast. Jasper handled the toast and eggs. Mr. Brandon used the stove to make waffles and pancakes. Emmett, who was cooking the bacon and sausages, glanced up and saw us in the doorway.

"Good morning, Sleeping Beauties," Emmett welcomed us before returning to his cooking.

Edward mumbled a simple, "shut up" under his breath before he joined the men in the kitchen and started making hash browns.

"How would you like your eggs, Bella?" Jasper asked.

"Scrambled, please," I answered as I trudged over to the kitchen table where Alice, Rose, and Mrs. Brandon were sitting. Rose took a sip of her coffee before asking me how I was feeling. "Stiff," I admitted while moving my back around.

"Well, you two looked mighty cozy this morning," Rose commented with a sly look.

"Yes, Bella, what would your father say?" Alice scolded with a smile.

That was when it hit me. Charlie didn't know I stayed the night. He must be freaking out right now. "Charlie!" I exclaimed out loud. Mrs. Brandon put a gentle but restraining hand on my arm before I could get up and look for a phone.

"Don't worry. I called everyone's parents last night when we got home and saw all of you knocked out in the living room."

I let out a sigh of relief.

Not long after my mini panic attack, the food was ready. The guys brought all the food over to the table, and we dug in. The food tasted delicious, and I had to admit, the guys could cook a mean breakfast. I laughed out loud when I saw Edward pile three waffles on to his plate and fill every hole with syrup.

After breakfast, Rose and Alice invited me to go to the mall with them. I decided to pass for two reasons. One, I didn't like the mall. And two, since I arrived, I hadn't really spent any time with Charlie and I knew he had today off of work.

"I'll drive you home," Edward offered. I wanted to say yes -who wouldn't- but I didn't want Jasper and Emmett to be left without a ride.

"How will Jasper and Emmett get home?"

"Emmett has his Jeep, and Jasper rode with me, so Jasper can just get a ride home with Emmett." Edward's explanation made sense, so I said yes.

We walked outside, and I followed Edward to the silver Volvo parked on the road. Edward opened the passenger side door for me, and I laughed. "Wow, chivalry isn't dead after all," I commented with a smile.

Edward winked and made his way to the driver's side. "Well, we have to live up to the expectations those Disney princes gave all the young ladies of the world," Edward announced as he started the car.

"Were the Disney princes always your role models?" I teased.

Edward shot me a look. "No, if I remember correctly, they became my role models in grade two. I liked this girl, so me, being a guy, teased her and pulled her hair. She told me she hated me, and I told her I liked her. She said that if I like her I should have acted like Prince Phillip or Prince Charming. I spent the whole week watching Disney movies and learning how to treat a lady properly."

"So, the next time you saw your crush you treated her like a princess, and then you guys fell madly in love with each other?" I concluded, not even attempting to hide my grin.

Edward snorted. "Actually, the next time I saw her was when boys apparently had cooties." I burst out laughing. Edward rolled his eyes, but I saw a hint of a smirk toying with his lips.

"Alright, so what is your favourite Disney movie?" I asked once I had contained my laughter.

"Tied between _The Lion King_ and _Tarzan_. You?"

"Firstly, thank you for picking Disney movies of our childhood. If you hadn't, I would have probably shunned you. The ones from our childhood are the best ones to watch when you're all grown up. You finally understand all the dirty jokes you missed when you were a kid. As for my favourite; _Hercules_ closely followed by _Mulan_."

"Hercules? Is it because he's a big, strong man?" Edward asked with a smile.

"No, because it has kick-ass songs. And for the record, Prince Phillip and Aladdin are my favourite Disney men." Because honestly, the best looking Disney fellows are Prince Phillip and Aladdin. Just saying.

Edward gave me an exasperated look. "Every classic Disney movie has kick-ass songs, Bella," he scolded. "And for the record, Belle is my favourite."

"And why?" I prompted.

Edward raised his eyebrows. "I didn't ask you why Aladdin and Prince Phillip were your favourites."

"They're hot, and they're cool," I admitted. "Your turn."

"Good to know girls think they're hot, too. Sets another standard for us men. Anyways, Belle is brave, stands up for herself, and is an all-around good person." Edward pulled up in my driveway, and I undid my seatbelt.

"Well, Disney makes us girls feel inferior, too. They give girls unrealistic expectations about hair. Growing up, I hated my hair because I could never get it to look that cool." I opened the door and had one foot on the ground when Edward spoke.

"Well, I think your hair is much better than any Disney princess's hair."

I snorted. "Oh, yes, go ahead and lie since that will make me feel so much better. Anyways, thank you for driving me home." I shut the car door and started walking to my front door.

The sound of a window rolling down made me turn around. Edward was leaning towards the open window with a smile on his lips. "Bella, it's not lying, it's flattery. Get used to it." With that, he drove away with the damn smile still on his lips.

Get used to it. What the hell did that mean?

I made my way inside and found Charlie in the kitchen, surrounded by a bunch of fishing gear.

"Hey, Dad," I greeted. "Where are you going?"

"Oh, I was just going to go fishing with some of the guys from LaPush. Um, you can come if you want," he offered.

Well that eliminated my plans for today. Regardless, I didn't want to go to the mall.

I shook my head. "No, thanks. Have fun."

I helped Charlie pack up his gear in the cruiser, and he told me he would probably be home around dinnertime. I promised him I would have dinner ready for him when he returned. Charlie gave me a wave as he pulled out of the driveway, and I returned to the kitchen to finish up the dishes. Sometimes I really wondered how Charlie had survived on his own.

I cleaned the entire house yesterday, so that wasn't an option. The only thing I could do before I made dinner was finish my homework. I didn't have much to do, so I was finished in less than an hour. I decided to bake cookies to kill some time, and because I had a sudden cookie craving.

The phone rang just as I was putting the first batch of cookies in the oven. "Hello?"

"Oh, hi. This must be Bella I'm speaking to. It's Billy Black calling."

"Billy! How have you been?" I could hear chuckling from the other end. Billy Black was one of the few people that I remember from my summer visits to Forks.

"I'm okay. Could you give your dad a message for me? Tell him I'll be over next Sunday for the game."

"Alright, I'll let him know." I was about to say goodbye when something began nagging in the back of my mind.

"Wait. Shouldn't you be out fishing with Charlie right now?"

Billy laughed freely. "Normally, yes. I had other plans already scheduled for today, but if that weren't the case, then I would be on that boat right now."

"Alright. Good enough answer for me."

We said our goodbyes and hung up. I immediately wrote down Billy's message on a scrap piece of paper.

I finished baking my cookies and made dinner. Charlie came home shortly after I finished preparing the food and he told stories about what happened today while he and the guys were fishing. We ate with minimal conversation at the dinner table. Charlie did the dishes before watching television. I showered, and then sent my mom an email before reading.

I really couldn't concentrate on the book in my hands. I kept thinking about last night and this morning. I was still surprised I had made friends as quickly as I did, no less friends that I enjoyed hanging out with for long periods of time. Don't get me wrong, I had friends back in Phoenix, but I found that there were times in which I couldn't stand hanging out with them. I would constantly make up excuses, and spend the night reading in my room.

After a while, I looked at my clock and noticed a few hours had passed, so I put my book away and went downstairs to wish Charlie goodnight. I trudged back to my room, crawled under my covers and was unconscious the moment my head touched the pillow.

* * *

I awoke to the sound of my alarm clock blaring. I blindly reached my hand over to my dresser and struggled to find the obnoxious little thing. It took me a few tries, but I finally found it and shut it off. I fought the urge to whip it across my room and settled for placing it back on my dresser with more force than necessary.

Can you tell I'm not a morning person?

I slowly rolled out of bed and shuffled downstairs. There was a yellow post-it note on the kitchen counter. It was from Charlie, wishing me luck on my first practice and that he would be picking up something for dinner.

I opened the front door to grab the paper and was met with a chilling, thick-sweater-but-probably-not-a-jacket wind. I ate my breakfast while reading the comics and washed my dishes before retreating back to my room. I threw on my favourite pair of jeans and a simple black tank top before searching my closet until I extracted a purple hoodie. I looked at my hair in the mirror and decided that the best option was to just put it up. I put it in a messy bun and applied my make up; something that took less than two minutes.

I glanced at the clock and grabbed my backpack off the bedroom floor before walking down the stairs. I grabbed my keys off the kitchen counter and locked up the house. I was half-way down the drive way before I realized that there was a car parked on it. I heard laughter coming from inside, no doubt that it was due to the shock and confusion that masked my face. I walked towards the car and stopped at the driver's side window. Rose rolled down the window and popped her head out.

"What are you doing here?" I asked Rose.

"I beat Edward in Rock-Paper-Scissors-Lizard-Spock, so I get to pick you up this morning," she explained simply.

My face lit up, involuntarily. "Edward wanted to drive me?"

Rosalie rolled her eyes. "Just get in the car, Swan." Rose rolled up the window, and I climbed into the back seat. I greeted Alice, who was sitting in the passenger seat, and the three of us made our way to school.

"So," Alice began. "You and Edward seemed pretty cozy Saturday night. Anything happen that you want to share?"

I felt my cheeks heat up and shook my head. Edward and I were friends who fell asleep while sharing a chair. And, okay, I admit, I may possibly have a teeny-tiny crush on Edward after only knowing him for a few days, but that didn't mean that anything happened.

"Really? No accidental touches?" Alice inquired sweetly

"No."

"No inappropriate intentional touches?" Rose and I looked at Alice with wide eyes. "What? You never know unless you ask," she defended herself.

I rolled my eyes and answered her question. "No."

"No flirtation whatsoever?"

"No. I don't even really know how to flirt," I admitted.

"Jeez, Bella, you could be a nun," Alice commented, causing the three of us to burst out laughing. "Don't worry, Bella, we'll teach you the basics of flirting, and you will soon be kicked out of the nunnery."

"I have no idea if I should be offended right now." My comment made the three of us start laughing again.

Once we had calmed ourselves, Alice continued her pestering. "No catching one another staring?"

I hesitated for a second, thinking of how Edward caught me staring at him just as the movie was starting. "Um…"

Alice caught my hesitation. "Who caught who?" she asked, bubbling with excitement.

"He caught me," I admitted with a groan.

"Bella, cheer up! This is a good thing. If he catches you staring, at least you know he was looking back." I gave Alice an uncertain look and glanced at Rose for confirmation.

Rose nodded her head. "Alice is right," she agreed as we pulled into a parking space.

The three of us climbed out of the car, and Emmett, Jasper, and Edward popped out of nowhere. Well, clearly not out of nowhere, but I just didn't know where they had been previously. Emmett dipped Rose and kissed her briefly on the lips before they headed towards the school. Alice hopped on Jasper's back for a piggyback ride, and Edward politely held his arm out for me with an adorable, uneven grin. I gave him a timid smile before tentatively wrapping my arm through his.

"Do you guys do this every morning?" I inquired as Edward and I started walking towards the school.

"Emmett and Jasper greet Rose and Alice, but today I joined them, so I could greet you."

Yeah, safe to say I blushed.

We walked to my locker first, and I grabbed everything I would need for my morning classes. I squeezed my eyes closed as I tried to shut my locker, expecting it to be uncooperative and not fully close. My eyes flew open in surprise when my locker obediently closed without me having to kick it.

"Do you feel special now?" I turned to find Edward giving me a mocking grin. I gave Edward a sarcastic smile and nodded my head before walking away. I heard Edward's laughter followed by his footsteps. He caught up to me after a few steps and lightly bumped my shoulder with his. We stopped outside the door of my English class. I turned to thank Edward for walking me to class, but closed my mouth when I saw his face. He looked like he was struggling to find words. People were passing us on their way to class, but I was barely aware of them. Edward opened and closed his mouth several times before he let out a frustrated sigh and ran his hand through his hair. He gave me an apologetic smile before he turned and walked away. He took two steps before calling over his shoulder, "I'll see you at lunch."

I made my way into class, only to be met with Alice's questioning stare. I sat down beside her and tried to ignore her probing looks. After only a minute, I couldn't take it anymore. "What, Alice?"

"What did you two talk about outside the classroom?" she demanded.

"Nothing, Alice," I said, sighing. "He just said he would see me at lunch."

The look on Alice's face clearly showed that was not the answer she expected. "That was it?" Alice sounded slightly angry. Whether she was angry with Edward or me, I didn't know.

"Yes."

The bell rang and Alice was forced to pay attention to the lesson Mr. Smith was teaching. English passed in a blur while I tried to figure out what Edward really wanted to say outside of the classroom. Thankfully, Alice could see that my mind was elsewhere and didn't push the subject as we walked to our next class.

Alice and I parted when we reached my Biology classroom. Everyone watched me as I walked to my lab table.

Oh, the benefits of being the new girl who made the football team.

Mr. Banner walked in the classroom, pulling a stand that held a TV and an ancient looking VCR - movie day. He inserted the VHS, and then turned off the lights.

I kept my eyes on the television to make it look like I was paying attention, but I let my mind wander. I still couldn't think of anything that Edward would possibly want to tell me. I quietly let out a frustrated groan. Edward didn't even know how frustrating he was. I thought about our conversation in his car when he drove me home Sunday morning. Were we flirting? I didn't think so, but hell, what did I know about flirting? And I was still trying to figure out what exactly Edward meant when he said, "Bella, it's not lying, it's flattery. Get used to it." He said that because he was being a good friend... I think. Or did he like me? I almost laughed at myself. Why in the world would I ever think Edward liked me?

I breathed a sigh of relief when the lights were flicked on at the end of class, followed by the bell ringing mere seconds later. For once in my life, I wasn't dreading Gym. Dare I say I was somewhat excited? I could take all this stupid frustration that Edward was giving me and let it out in a healthy way. If we were going to be playing tennis today, I would not complain.

I met up with Angela and Alice right outside the classroom doors, and the three of us started weaving our way through the hall. Angela was the first one to start the conversation. "Congratulations on making the team, Bella. Ben's happy for you too. He said he was proud of you for trying out, and he's glad you made it."

I felt myself smile. That made a grand total of four guys who were okay with me being on the team.

We entered the change room, greeted Rosalie, changed into our unflattering uniforms, exited the change room, and then talked as we waited for class to start.

Croquet. We were going to be playing croquet. The game you play on your lawn, where you use a mallet to hit balls through the tiny white plastic gates. It was also a game that required aim and concentration. A game in which it would be frowned upon if you decided to just nail the ball as far as you possibly could and belt out, "FORE!"

Today was obviously not my day, and it proceeded to get worse as Coach Clapp divided us into groups of five. I was grouped with Rose and three guys from the football team, one of whom was Mike Newton.

Let's just say we all had injuries coming out of the game.

Rose ended up taking a ball to the ankle that we both suspected was meant for me, resulting in Tony getting whacked in the back of the leg by Rose. Nathaniel somehow managed to accidentally hit himself in the… um… downstairs. Mike decided he was too cool for crutches and rolled his ankle from unintentionally hopping on one of the croquet balls, and I tripped over one of the tiny, white, evil, plastic gate things and hurt my wrist from breaking my fall.

By the time I made it to the cafeteria, Rose had already filled everyone in on what happened during Gym. I avoided everyone's stares as I made my way over to where Rose, Alice, Edward, Emmett, and Jasper were sitting. I quietly took my seat that just so happened to be right next to Edward.

Edward bent his head down, so his lips were right next to my ear. "How's your hand."

I shrugged. "Not that bad. I've had worse."

"Can I see it?" I slowly put my hand in Edward's outstretched palm. He examined my wrist so gently it didn't cause me any pain. Edward kept my hand in his longer than was probably necessary, but I wasn't going to complain. "Anything else hurt?" I looked up at Edward only to see his gaze burning into mine. I shook my head slowly, but Edward didn't turn his head away.

I forgot we were in a school cafeteria until I heard the sound of Emmett belching loudly. I tore my gaze away from Edward and watched as Rose whacked Emmett in the back of the head.

Lunch continued on with the normal conversations and teasing. In the corner on my eye, I noticed Edward glancing at me occasionally. I fought against the urge to look at him, since I had no clue what to expect and I still didn't understand what everything that had been happening between us meant. I, for one, did not feel like confusing myself any further.

It was near the end of lunch when Emmett cleared his throat loudly and gave me an apologetic smile. "Bella, Jasper and I are very sorry."

I felt my eyebrows scrunch in confusion. "Why?"

"Well, I have to get blood testing done today, and since you're not supposed to drive, Emmett offered to be my chauffer," Jasper explained.

"I even got a hat," Emmett stated with a smile.

Jasper shot Emmett a look. "Please tell me you didn't," he pleaded.

Emmett's smile fell ever so slightly. "Okay, maybe I didn't. But I did consider it."

"And you guys are sorry because…?" I prompted.

"We're going to be missing your first practice. Edward will still be there for you, so it's not that bad. We would love to be there if we could. The people working at the clinic are always so slow, so we will probably be stuck there for hours."

A small giggle escaped my lips. They were making it seem like my first practice was like my first day of school, and they were my proud parents.

I assured Jasper that it was fine, and that I forgave him. I turned my attention to Emmett and folded my arms across my chest. "I see how it is. You propose, I accidentally play footsies with another guy, and then you ditch me." I stood up from the table and stuck my tongue out at Emmett as I walked away.

Edward was laughing when he caught up to me just outside the cafeteria, and we walked to my locker. I grabbed my stuff and closed my locker, hoping it would still be good and close the first time. However, it decided to be a brat and not close, even when I tried kicking it. I grumbled quietly and tried to kick it shut again. It still didn't shut all the way.

Edward had an amused smile on his face as he watched. "Need help?"

"No."

Edward ignored me and pulled me a few steps away from the locker. He gave my locker a good shove with his hands, and it closed perfectly. He then grabbed the lock from my hands, slid it through the small metal rings, and clicked it shut. I glared at him before swallowing my pride and thanked him.

We went to his locker and he decided to make a show out of the fact that his locker closed easily and quietly.

Show off.

The moment we entered our classroom, Mr. Wilson called me over. "Your equipment will already be in the girls change room when you go in there after school." He handed me a schedule that showed practice times and game dates. "That's obviously your schedule, and if you can't make it to a practice or game, you have to tell me a minimum of twenty-four hours beforehand. That's it for now. I'll get you your playbook by the end of class."

I walked to my desk and the moment I sat down in my chair, I heard the unmistakable sound of raindrops hitting the windows. I gasped and spun to face Edward. "Liar!"

Edward's eyes widened in shock. "I beg your pardon?"

"You heard me. I called you a liar."

"And what exactly makes me a liar?"

"It's raining." I pointed to the windows to emphasize my point.

Edward was looking at me like I had gone crazy. "Yes, this is Forks. It normally rains here."

"Well, I do recall you saying it was not supposed to rain for four days," I stated smugly.

Edward chuckled and shook his head. "Oh, yeah. Okay, so maybe I am a liar."

The bell rang, and Mr. Wilson didn't waste any time as he began his lesson. Surprisingly, I understood everything he was teaching and didn't have to ask him to clarify anything. I also didn't need to ask Edward for any help with the homework questions that Mr. Wilson gave us time in class to complete.

I felt so proud.

Edward was finished his work, and I only had two questions left when Mr. Wilson dropped a folder on my desk. "It's the playbook. I expect you to know it by Friday's game." I really didn't know why I, the kicker, needed to know all our plays, but I didn't question Mr. Wilson's ways.

I finished my math questions and opened the playbook. Edward glanced over, cleared his voice quietly, and then started reciting the first page perfectly - without looking at the playbook. "If you drop a pass, you will run a mile. If you miss a blocking assignment, you will run a mile. If you fumble the football, you will run a mile. If you give me attitude, you will run a mile. If you use unnecessary roughness against a teammate during practice, you will run a mile. And if you start walking when you are supposed to be running a mile, I will personally shove my foot up your behind, you will finish running your first mile, and you will run a second mile," Edward finished with a smile.

I stared at him in silence for a few moments. "Someone clearly has no life."

Edward pouted and clutched his heart in mock offence. "Way to rip my heart out, Bella."

I spent the next few minutes apologizing to Edward, and by the time the bell rang he had forgiven me.

We walked to my History class, and I thanked him for accompanying me. I took my seat next to Angela, and Jasper turned around in his seat to face me. He dropped two pieces of folded paper on my desk. He pointed to the one that had my name written on the outside. "That one is from Emmett." Jasper then pointed to the second piece of paper. "And this one is from me. Don't open them until you get in the change room."

I gave Jasper a mock salute, and he simply rolled his eyes before turning to face the front of the classroom.

Our teacher decided to give us a surprise test. Yes a test, not a quiz, which took the whole class to complete. Every five minutes I asked myself why I took History in the first place. I think I actually cheered a bit when the bell rang and school was over.

I grabbed everything I needed from my locker before making my way to the girls' change room. I glanced out the window and smiled in relief when I saw that it was only misting outside. I entered the change room and stared at the heap of football equipment. I didn't know how the heck to begin to put everything on.

I changed into my practice clothes quickly and then decided to open Emmett's paper.

My Darling Bella,

Fine. Road trip to Vegas this weekend.

Love, Emmett

P.S. I'm totally joking. We're flying to Vegas. Gas prices are crazy.

P.P.S. Wait. Is it P.P.S or P.S.S.? Oh, who cares? Anyways, kick ass at practice today.

I burst out laughing as I read it, but I also felt touched by his words. Emmett truly wanted me to do well.

I opened up Jasper's paper next. I decided that the next time I saw him I would give him the biggest hug ever. At the top it read, 'I thought you might find this useful,' and the paper explained what each piece of equipment was and where it went. The paper had been printed off the computer, so it also had pictures of everything.

Once I was ready to go, I took a deep breath and left the change room. I walked the short distance through the hallway to the door that led outside. The rain had only been a light mist when I walked into the change room, but now it was steadily falling.

Edward was waiting for me just outside the doors. "Nervous?"

"Oh yeah."

"You'll do fine, and don't worry - I'll protect you from the scary monsters." Edward playfully bumped his shoulder against mine, and we made our way to the field. Everyone was already lined up on the field when Edward and I took our spots. I gave Edward a panicked look, and he explained what we would be doing for our warm-ups. I kind of got it, but I knew I was going to screw up the order.

"Just watch and follow along. You'll get the hang of it. And when you hear two whistles, that means the drill is over and you can stop," Edward told me moments before we started the drill.

We started by doing fast feet, and when we heard the whistle, we went down and started doing push-ups. We kept doing push-ups until we heard another whistle which signaled everyone to pop back up and do fast feet again. Next whistle, we were on our backs doing sit-ups until we heard a whistle, which brought us back up to do fast feet. Whistle, mountain climbers, whistle, fast feet, whistle, jumping jacks, whistle, fast feet, and then the cycle started over again.

It was tough to follow since it was my first time, but I thought I was keeping up okay. I was trying to ignore the burn that was currently in every single one of my muscles, and praying this would be over soon.

The two whistles sounded, and Mr. Wilson let us get a quick drink. Our water break lasted less than two minutes, as Mr. Wilson called us back on the field.

We grouped around fourteen tires that were set up two across and seven long. I figured out what we would be doing next. We would be running through the tires by stepping in the middle of each one until we reached the end of the line. It was the drill that you saw in all football movies, in which you could easily picture someone tripping over the tires and wiping out.

And, of course, yours truly over here tripped and stumbled over the fifth tires. But, for the record, I was not the only one. And everything was wet and slippery from the rain, so it really wasn't my fault.

After we each did a few turns of the dreadful tires, we broke off into three groups: offence, defense, and special teams. Each group worked on different plays and strategies that we would use during the games. It felt like we kept re-doing plays and such for over an hour. I could feel my leg getting weaker with every kick I took.

Near the end of practice, Mr. Wilson called the offence and defense on the field to run some plays against each other. I couldn't even keep track of how many times they ran through plays. Ten? Twenty? Fifty? I honestly didn't know.

Eventually, it was my turn.

"PAT unit and defense, on the field. Let's treat this like it's a real game," Mr. Wilson hollered.

A few of the guys on offence were also a part of the PAT unit, so they stayed on the field. Both sides were in their positions, and Edward gave me a reassuring smile. It seemed like it took forever for the ball to get snapped back to Edward, and I didn't waste any time as I kicked the ball out of his hands. The ball effortlessly flew through the posts, but that didn't stop the defense. One of the defenders was charging towards me, and I didn't have time to move out of the way. The sound of our helmets and equipment bashing together rang strongly in my ears before we slammed to the ground. It was the first tackle I had ever taken. It. Fucking. Hurt.

Whoever hit me sprung up right away, and I slowly brought myself to my feet. Edward ran over and asked me if I was okay. After I assured him I was fine five times, he explained to me that one of the guys didn't block, and that was how Travis – the guy who hit me – was able to tackle me.

Surprisingly, Travis apologized, saying he wasn't able to stop in time and couldn't change his direction. I told him it was just a part of football, and that I was fine.

"Let's try this again." Mr. Wilson blew his whistle, and we took our spots on the field.

I watched the ball being snapped back and saw another defender rushing through because again, someone didn't block. Edward must have noticed too because he didn't even bother catching the ball. He sprang up just in time to take the tackle, and they crashed to the ground. The defender got off Edward, and then held out a hand to help him up.

We all expected to go again, but Mr. Wilson was staring at the guy who hadn't blocked. "Practice is done. Neil, stay behind. I want to talk to you."

I didn't wait for anyone as I rushed to the change room. My first practice was officially over, and I felt gross. I was all sweaty and sticky. I couldn't wait to go home and shower - no way was I going to use the locker room showers.

My muscles ached as I removed all my equipment. It took me some time to get it all off, and all I wanted to do was dunk myself in a tub of ice. Well, maybe a tub of ice and rose petals, surrounded by vanilla scented candles.

I changed and shuffled out of the change room. I pulled my hood up and walked out into the rain. I only walked ten steps before someone grabbed me from behind. It wasn't friendly either; I knew it was to hold me still. I panicked and blindly swung my leg back, hoping to make contact with anything. My foot hit something, and the hands that were holding me disappeared. I didn't even bother looking back as I tried to make a run for it. I didn't make it more than a single step before three pairs of hands grabbed me.

"Swan, this would be a whole lot easier if you would stop struggling," one of the guys holding me said. I looked over my shoulder and saw Austin, Tony, and Travis: three of my teammates.

Tyler was a few feet away, on his knees, hands at his crotch. There were a few guys by him, doubled over laughing. I looked all around me and saw what looked like the entire football team.

Austin, Tony, and Travis picked me up, and I began to struggle more. They carried me over to one of the benches that were on the school's front lawn and laid me on my back. Five other guys from the team came over and held me down on the bench while a few more walked towards me with rope. My heart jumped to my throat at the sight. My struggling was useless, as the guys started tying rope around my ankles, thighs, waist, and shoulders.

I glanced around and met Edward's eyes. I felt my breathing pick up and a giant lump formed in my throat. I thought we were friends. Hadn't he told me he would protect me? Now he was a part of what he had promised to protect me from.

Edward was standing at least ten feet behind the crowd of football players, and he almost looked as if he was in pain. Even from the amount of distance between us, I could see the agony in his eyes. I didn't care.

I stopped struggling and let Conner grab my wrists, so he could pin them together under the bench while Nathaniel tied them up. I willed myself not to cry, but that didn't stop the traitor tears from rolling down my cheeks. Right then, I changed my opinion of rain. I didn't hate it anymore; I loved it. When it's raining, no one can tell you're crying.

Thunder started rolling in and the football team started to leave, most of the guys laughing and cheering. Eventually, only Edward remained. I didn't look over at him as I tried to slip my hands out of the rope. Unfortunately, Nathaniel must have been a boy scout back in the day since he had tied up my hands nice and tight; they wouldn't even budge.

"Bella," Edward called over the thunder.

"Just go," I ordered without looking at him. Edward ignored me and jogged over to where I was rendered helpless. He knelt down and started untying the knots around my wrists. I heard him swear about the number of knots that were tied, but I didn't care.

I couldn't stand this. He was acting like my friend now that the other guys were gone. I let out a bitter laugh, which was accompanied by more tears and a small sob. Edward heard me and looked at me with a worried expression. "Bella?"

I turned to glare at Edward. "Leave."

"Bella, I'm not leaving you here." Edward continued to untie the rope around my wrists.

"LEAVE!" I shrieked at him as more tears cascaded down my face.

"Bella, I can't leave you here!" Edward stopped untying the rope. He brought one hand to my face and cupped my cheek, using his thumb to wipe the mixture of tears and rain from my cheek. I flinched away from his touch. Edward slowly retracted his hand with a heartbroken expression.

"Please, just go," I begged in a small voice.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, torment evident in his voice. "I'm so sorry." He slowly backed away from me and made his way to the parking lot, his shoulders slumped.

A strangled sob escaped from my lips once I knew Edward was out of hearing range. It only took me a few moments to realize that I was truly alone, tied to a school bench in a thunderstorm. I frantically began trying to work my hands free from their confines. After at least five minutes of trying to get my hands free, I gave up. The only thing I had accomplished was getting rope burn on my wrists.

Okay. Breathe. I glanced around and sighed in relief as I saw a figure coming toward me. Edward must have come back, and I couldn't stop the swell of happiness and relief course through my body. As the figure got closer, I was able to identify it as Mike Newton, who was sporting a smug smirk. My whole body deflated in defeat. Oh, shit… this was definitely bad.


	4. Not Giving Up

**Dear Bella Swan, You're playing with the Big Boys**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. **

This chapter has been edited by EmilyLinne and mcc101180.

Chapter Four: Not Giving Up

It wasn't until Mike reached the bench that I realized he had something in his hand. I looked closely and was able to determine that it was an electric dog collar; you know, one of those collars that shocks a dog when it barks. My eyes widened in fear as Mike undid the Velcro strap and brought it down to my neck. I couldn't even prevent it from happening - Mike secured the Velcro around my neck and smiled down at me as if he enjoyed the view. "A bitch collar for the bitch." His words struck me almost as hard as if he had backhanded me across the face.

"What did – ow!" I was going to ask Mike what I had ever done to him, but the collar shocked me after only two words. I didn't think that electric dog collars even worked on humans. I coughed, trying to get rid of the tingling feeling in my throat. Apparently, the collars don't like it when you cough either, I thought as another surge of electricity shot through me, leaving me gasping for air.

Mike threw his head back and laughed. "Hazing happens to everyone on the team. However, this" -he tapped the collar on my neck- "is for embarrassing me in Gym your first day here, taking my spot on the team, and for hanging out with Cullen instead me!"

I knew I had tears streaming down my face but at least I wasn't sobbing. The rain began to pour even harder - something I didn't think was possible - and a bolt of lighting cracked down from the sky.

"Have a nice night," Mike told me with a smirk as he retreated to the parking lot.

Once Mike was out of sight, I frantically started trying to get my hands free so I could get the damn dog collar off. After a few minutes, I realized that there was no way I would ever be able to get the rope untied by myself.

I gave up trying to get my hands free and started thinking of a plan B.

It took me a few minutes before I remembered that the dog collar was secured with a Velcro strap. I shimmied my body so I was closer to the edge of the bench and tried to get the end of the Velcro and the edge of the bench to line up with each other. Once I got them aligned just right, I shifted back to my original position and heard the lovely sound of Velcro ripping over the thundering of the storm. I repeated this process a few more times until the whole strip of Velcro was undone and I was able to shake the collar off my neck and watch it fall to the ground.

I wanted to feel relieved, but I couldn't since I was still tied to the bench. I felt myself losing circulation in my hands - the rope was so damn tight! I felt absolutely helpless and couldn't do anything to stop the silent tears that streaked down my face, fast and hard.

**~!~DBSYPWTBB~!~**

I didn't know how long it had been since Mike had left. All I knew was that the storm had yet to cease, and I grew colder by the second. I felt fatigue claim every part of my body and my eyes were slowly starting to close on their own. My eyes snapped back open every time I heard lightning crack down from the sky, preventing me from falling asleep.

I heard the squeal of breaks coming from the direction of the parking lot. It was hard to tell with the heavy rain disrupting my view, but it looked like two figures were sprinting in my general direction. I tried to open my mouth and yell, but I didn't have any energy left to produce a sound louder than a whimper of sorts. As the figures got closer, I realized it was Jasper and Emmett, drenched and panicked. They didn't waste any time as they started untying the ropes that held me captive on the bench.

My body was practically convulsing and my teeth were chattering loudly by the time they were finished with the knots. Emmett picked me up effortlessly and started jogging to his Jeep in the distance. I tried to bring my arms around his neck, but they wouldn't go higher than his chest.

"Jasper, there's a blanket on the floor in front of the backseat." Jasper sprinted ahead of us and made it to the Jeep in record time. We reached the Jeep shortly afterwards, and Emmett began to put me in the backseat when Jasper stopped him and moved so he stood right in front of me.

"Bella, we have to take your sweater off. It's soaked and it won't help you warm up." I wordlessly put my arms up and Jasper removed my sweater, leaving me in a tank top and rain soaked jeans.

Emmett placed me gently in the backseat before hopping into the driver's seat. Jasper tossed my sweater on the floor in the back, the wet fabric landing with a quiet thud, before climbing into the back with me. Jasper wrapped the blanket securely around me before buckling me in.

After only a short period of time, I started to feel warmer – the tips of my fingers regaining their colour and the tingling sensation subsiding. The heat was cranked up all the way, and the blanket that was wrapped around me was warm and thick. My eyelids fluttered, and I leaned into Jasper; he responded by wrapping an arm around me and rubbed my arm through the blanket. I felt myself nodding off, so I forced myself to sit up straighter. I didn't know why, but I felt the need to fight off the urge to sleep.

Jasper must have noticed because he whisered, "You're okay, Bella. Shut your eyes and go to sleep."

I heeded his advice and obediently shut my eyes, falling asleep in seconds.

**~!~DBSYPWTBB~!~**

I knew I was in a hospital. My eyes weren't even open, and I knew. I could smell the unmistakable clean, sterile scent lingering in the air.

My eyes slowly drifted open, and I was temporarily blinded by the bright sunshine that streamed through my window. After blinking a few times, I was able to see two figures talking in the doorway: Charlie and a man I assumed was my doctor.

Charlie looked in my direction and when he saw that I was awake, he rushed over to my bed. "Bella, honey, how are you feeling?"

Good question. I took a few moments to assess my body. My arms were killing me and there were small bandages littering my wrists. My whole back felt sore, and I felt like I was dying of heat stroke due to the three thick blankets that were covering me. Other than that, I felt fine.

"Okay, I think," I finally answered.

The man who had been talking with Charlie when I woke up approached my bed. "Bella, it's good to see you awake. I'm Dr. Cullen."

I studied his face. He had many of the same facial features as Edward and the exact same striking green eyes. The air surrounding him radiated confidence and poise.

"You're Edward's dad." It was more a statement than a question.

He gave me a small smile and nodded before speaking. "You have rope burn and a few small cuts on your wrists, along with a couple scratches on your neck. You also came in with your body temperature a few degrees below normal, but it is fine now."

I nodded in understanding, and there were a few moments of silence among the three of us. Charlie was the one to break it. "Bells, what happened? Emmett and Jasper told me you were in the hospital, but when I asked why, the only words out of their mouths were profanities and words I'm not sure I want to know the meaning of."

Memories of the previous night's events flooded my mind. "Hazing," I answered thickly.

His thick eyebrows rose. "Care to elaborate?"

I took a deep breath before explaining what happened. Both men had scowls on their faces for the duration of my story. I had planned to leave out the dog collar portion of the story, but when Charlie asked why I didn't start screaming for help, I had no choice but to tell them. I wasn't exactly sure why, but I felt embarrassed. The room was quiet once I finished talking. Charlie was pacing the room frantically, and Dr. Cullen seemed to be pondering something to a great extent.

Dr. Cullen let out a deep sigh and focused his attention on me. "Was Edward part of this?" he asked in a soft voice.

I shut my eyes and clenched my teeth. I thought about how it appeared we had been on our way to the beginning of a pretty kick-ass friendship, and then the previous night - the agony in his eyes as he watched the guys tie me up and didn't do anything to stop them. Not one single thing. He just stood there and watched. And, of course, after everyone else left then he decided he wanted to help me and be my savior_. You were too late,_ I mentally screamed at Edward as I opened my eyes and slowly nodded my head.

Disappointment flashed across Dr. Cullen's face. He cleared his throat and politely excused himself from the room.

Charlie was still pacing. "You can press charges on all of them, honey."

I shot him a look. "No. I got hazed, Dad. Calm down. I didn't get hurt. I'm fine," I promised, my voice cracking slightly.

Physically, I was barely hurt - just a few cuts and scrapes. Emotionally, on the other hand, was a complete different story.

Charlie stopped pacing and gave me an incredulous look. "You didn't get hurt? What are you doing in a hospital if you didn't get hurt?"

I resisted the urge to hit my head against something. "Regardless, the answer is still no."

I was hazed. It happens. It was a tradition everyone had to go through. Yes, I was royally pissed, but I would just have to learn how to deal with it. I knew it would take time, but I also knew that I would eventually get over everything. In the meantime, I would just have to stay strong and not give up.

Dr. Cullen returned and I immediately asked if I could be discharged.

"Bella, you just woke up. Are you sure you want to go right away?" Charlie asked me, giving Dr. Cullen a questioning look.

Dr. Cullen shrugged. "It's up to Bella. Her vitals are fine so she can be discharged if she wants."

I nodded. "I want to go to school," I explained. I had to be strong. I had to show them that I wasn't some weak little girl. I would go to school with my head held high.

"Bella, school is almost done," Charlie informed me.

"Okay, then I want to go to practice."

Charlie let out a sigh. "Bells…"

I cut him off. "Dad, this is something that I need to do."

He gave me a doubtful look.

"Look, the whole team is probably expecting me to quit. I'm not giving up. I'm staying on the team whether they like it or not."

At this Charlie cracked a smile. "That's my girl," he said, pride evident in his voice.

Dr. Cullen gave me a warm smile. "I'll go grab your papers."

**~!~DBSYPWTBB~!~**

I made it to the school just in time for practice - students were starting to leave. Dr. Cullen told me that I could only practice if my coach said it was okay, and I knew Mr. Wilson would be in the coach's office in the guys' locker room.

I made my way to the guys' locker room, not even caring as I pushed the door open. I immediately stopped as I took in the scene before me. No one even noticed I walked in. The entire team was sitting with the exception of Emmett and Jasper who were standing and yelling.

"What the hell did you think you guys were doing?" Emmett shouted.

"Every rookie has to be hazed, Emmett!" Austin explained with a flail of his arms.

Oh, so they were talking about me. I bit my tongue to refrain from saying anything, leaning against the wall as I listened.

"Hazing doesn't equal being tied to a bench during a _fucking_ thunderstorm!" Emmett roared. The entire room went silent and almost everyone hung their heads.

"Hey, it was only raining when we tied her up," Conner defended but flinched away from Emmett's glare.

"Oh yeah, because that makes it so much better," Jasper spit out sarcastically.

The room was dead quiet for a good thirty seconds.

"Do you know what the other teams will think?" Austin asked, finally breaking the silence.

"Yeah, I do. And frankly, I don't give a shit." Everyone, me included, was surprised that it was Edward who answered. "I know that we haze everyone, but wasn't this pushing it a bit too far?"

Some of the guys looked deep in thought. Most likely debating whether or not Edward was right. However, most of the guys were chuckling and shaking their heads.

Personally, I had no idea how I was feeling. I had so many emotions and thoughts running through my body. I knew I was pissed. Mostly at Edward, yet at the same time, I didn't _want_ to be mad at Edward. I wanted to forgive him and let things go back to the way they were, but I knew I wouldn't be able to trust him anymore. Betrayed was a good word to use to explain how I was feeling.

I felt slightly compassionate toward the team since they had to deal with the fact that they now had a girl on the roster and would have to listen to all the jabs that the opposing schools would make. But then again, they weren't exactly accepting me as a teammate so I found it hard to have much sympathy for them.

_Gah! Why does life have to be so confusing?_

Travis, one of the guys who had been deep in thought, raised his head and cleared his throat. "Do you guys think that she'll ever forgive us?" he asked quietly.

I decided to let my presence be known. "Eventually," I told them in a flat voice.

Every single head whipped toward me, and everyone had their mouths opened to some degree.

I forced my legs to move as I walked past the guys toward Mr. Wilson's office. The door was slightly ajar, so I took that as an invitation to walk right in.

Mr. Wilson was sitting in a chair behind his cluttered desk and was talking on the telephone when I entered his office.

"Thank you for giving me the heads up." Mr. Wilson hung up and turned his attention to me. "You're not practicing," he told me in a firm voice.

I felt my mouth drop. "What! Why?"

"Maybe because you just got out of the hospital."

"Exactly, I'm not _in_ the hospital anymore."

Mr. Wilson just rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Please, sir. I promise I'll take it easy," I begged.

Mr. Wilson let out a gust of air and scratched his head. Complete silence filled the office for a few long moments as Mr. Wilson seemed to be having an internal debate. He finally let out a long sigh and asked, "Are your legs hurt at all?"

I shook my head. "No, sir."

"I'm only allowing you to kick, that's it. I'm serious so don't even bother putting on your equipment, just your cleats."

I felt my face light up and I had to refrain from jumping over the desk and giving him a hug. "Thank you!"

I made my way to the office door but before I opened it, Mr. Wilson called my name. "Bella, you might want to give the guys a heads-up just in case any of them are in the process of changing."

I felt my face flush. I hadn't thought about that at all. How awkward would that have been if I walked back out into the locker room while some of the guys were in the process of changing, and I saw a sight such as Neil – 300 pounds of hardly any muscle – in a pair of tighty-whities.

Yeah. Good idea to give them a heads-up.

"Hooha, coming through" I announced and waited a good five seconds before opening the door.

I kept my eyes glued to the floor as I trekked my way out of the locker room. Even though I gave them a heads up, I didn't want to accidentally catch a glimpse of something that I did not want to see.

My cleats, along with all my other equipment, were kept in the girls' locker room that was just across the hall. It didn't take long for me to lace up my cleats, and I was surprised to find Jasper and Emmett waiting for me just outside of the door. The three of us started walking in silence, and I was the one to break it when I whispered, "How did you guys find me last night? Oh, and thank you, by the way. I don't think I properly thanked you guys last night."

"Edward called us," Jasper answered in a voice barely louder than my own.

"How are you feeling?" Emmett asked as we slowly began to get closer to the football field.

Ah, the million dollar question.

"Physically, I'm fine. Emotionally, I'm a mess. I have no idea what I'm feeling. One minute I'm pissed, and the other I'm understanding. And to make it more complicated, I feel a wide range of emotions towards specific people that confuses the hell out of me even more. All I know for sure is that I'm not mad at you two since you guys didn't participate in last night's festivities." I took a deep breath and ran my hand through my hair.

"Neither did Ben," Emmett told me with a small smile.

"What? But he was at practice yesterday." I thought back to the day before. Yes, Ben was definitely at practice, but the more I thought about it, I couldn't recall seeing him while I was being hazed.

"Everyone but Ben takes a quick shower after practice, that's when they planned your hazing. Ben didn't even know about it, but if he did, I doubt he would have participated."

I made a mental note to tell Angela that her boyfriend was amazing.

When we reached the field, Jasper and Emmett continued walking to join the rest of the team while I stood next to Mr. Wilson. He blew his whistle and the team began doing fast feet.

"I'm glad you didn't quit," Mr. Wilson told me as he blew the whistle for the guys to start doing push-ups. "You're an unbelievable kicker and the boys need a reality check."

His words caught me off guard "T-thank you," I stuttered. I felt the familiar feeling of heat in my cheeks, signaling that my face had turned a lovely shade of red.

It took me a few seconds to realize that I could have easily looked like I had gone to his office to tell him that I quit, yet he knew the reason I was there the moment I stepped into the office.

"When I walked into your office, how did you know I wasn't there to tell you that I quit? How did you know I was there to ask if I could practice?" I inquired.

"Your father may have called," Mr. Wilson told me with an apprehensive glance in my direction.

"That's who you were talking to on the phone when I walked into your office, wasn't it?"

"Maybe," Mr. Wilson told me with a smirk as he blew his whistle.

Time seemed to drag as I watched the guys do various drills while I waited until we did something that involved kicking. Once Mr. Wilson told me to go pair up with Ben and work on our kicks, I felt a grin appear on my face. I jogged over to where Ben was standing with a nervous expression on his face.

"Bella, I just want to you know, I'm so sorry, I didn't know and -" I cut Ben off by giving him a hug. He seemed shocked at first and it took him a few moments to return the hug.

"I know, Ben. Thank you." I released him and gave him a thankful smile.

We talked as we worked on our kicks. I worked on field goals while Ben worked on his punts. Thankfully, Ben was very good at distracting me. He was telling me interesting and funny stories that made me forget that I was at football practice and not just hanging out with a friend.

"So, I said to the guy, 'That's my cat, not yours'," Ben concluded his story just as Mr. Wilson called us in for a water break.

I didn't need any water, so I just walked over to where Mr. Wilson was standing. "Are you okay to kick and run some plays?" he asked as I approached. I simply nodded and waited for our break to end.

Just like practice the day before, the offense and defense took the field first and started running through plays. Both offense and defense were doing really good so they only did a few plays before Mr. Wilson switched PAT unit for offense.

I walked out onto the field and took my spot. I let out a quiet gasp of surprise when I was met with Edward's captivating gaze. I completely forgot that he was the holder and there he was, kneeling on the ground a few feet from me, ready to catch the football when it got snapped back to him.

A flood of emotions passed through me. I still had no idea how I was feeling toward him but something become clear - I didn't want to stay mad at him, but there was no way I could forgive him yet.

"Bella is simply kicking and obviously has no equipment on. Defense, I still want you to defend; just don't lay a hand on her," Mr. Wilson yelled from the sidelines.

The ball was snapped back shortly afterward, and Edward fumbled with it. He barely got it planted on the ground in time for me to kick it. The kick was good, but most of the guys on the field turned to glare at me.

"Why don't you wait a bit longer to kick it next time, Swan," Neil spit out sarcastically and started walking toward me. I didn't mirror his motion, but I didn't make a move to walk away either.

Edward stood up and stepped between Neil and me. "I fumbled the ball, Neil. Back off."

"Look, little Eddie is sticking up for his girlfriend," Neil taunted and took another step toward me.

Edward opened his mouth to say something, but Emmett appeared out of nowhere and told Neil that Mr. Wilson wanted to speak to him. Neil sneered at Edward and me before making his way over to Mr. Wilson.

Emmett turned to me with a grin on his face. "Say hello to the offensive and PAT unit center" Emmett turned his attention to Edward. "Let's try catching the ball, Edward. That's the first time I think I've ever seen you fumble the ball." Emmett gave Edward a few taps on his helmet before jogging to his position.

Edward knelt down and was snapped the ball a few seconds later. This time he didn't fumble the ball at all, and I was able to kick it without any problems. We did about seven more kicks with Mr. Wilson yelling instructions from the sideline.

I was surprised when he yelled for everyone to go run a mile then hit the showers. I thought running a mile was individual punishment for things done wrong during practice. I thought hard, trying to remember what exactly the first page of the playbook said and what were the reason why one would have to run.

After only a few moments, I gave up and looked at Mr. Wilson, asking if I was supposed to run too. He shook his head and motioned toward the school, telling me that I could leave.

I decided to help Mr. Wilson clean up instead of leaving right away. All I really had to do was put the footballs in the bag since he had already gathered everything else up. It didn't take long at all, and I finished putting the balls in the bag as the first few people finished their first of four laps.

I said goodbye to Mr. Wilson and started making my way back to the school so I could put my cleats back in the locker room.

"Bella!"

I faltered in my steps as I heard the familiar voice, but I didn't slow my stride. In fact, I quickened it as Edward's voice made it seem he was only a feet few behind me. The track was a good distance behind me, having walked halfway to the school already. I was sure Edward wasn't on the track anymore.

"Bella, for the love of God, _please_ stop walking," Edward begged, his voice surprisingly close. He ran past me and stopped right in front of me, forcing me to stop. "I am so sorry."

"CULLEN!" Mr. Wilson yelled from across the field.

"I KNOW! I'll RUN TWO MILES!" Edward yelled back.

I took advantage of Edward's slight distraction and began walking again. Edward quickly reappeared in front of me and gently grabbed my arms, holding me in place.

"Bella, I'm so sorry, but you need to know that I didn't help them and I never meant for this to happen."

I was already on an emotional roller coaster and this wasn't helping. I should have just skipped practice and spent all night figuring everything out. Of course, the most confusing and difficult issue regarding my hazing would have to be dealt with prematurely.

I stayed quiet, searching my mind to find the right words. "Well, you didn't exactly try to stop them either," I finally said.

Edward's eyes widened slightly. "Bella, how do you expect one person to stop over thirty people?"

"I didn't expect you to stop them. I just expected you wouldn't be there watching them. You could have had the decency to leave," I explained, my voice harsher then I intended.

Edward stood in front of me, frantically trying to find words by opening and closing his mouth several times.

I didn't wait for him to speak as I continued. "You know what the worst part is? The fact that I thought we were friends, and that you promised to protect me." My voice broke a bit and I blinked back the tears that were quickly threatening to spill.

"We are friends!" Edward exclaimed, clearly appalled I would think otherwise.

I shook my head, a lump forming my throat. "Friends have to be able to trust one another."

I caught a glimpse of the Edward's fallen expression as I spun on my heels and walked away.

One lone tear fell from my eye. Not because of what Edward did, but because the only thing I wanted was to be able to trust him again.

* * *

**SNEAK PEEK- Chapter Five**

"Why is the car stopped?"

"Because, we need to talk." 


	5. Another Chance

**Dear Bella Swan, you're Playing with the Big Boys Now**

**Disclaimer-I don't own Twilight**

**This chapter has been edited by Lost in his Golden Eyes and My-Heart-Of-Music.**

Chapter Five: Another Chance

I was in and out of the locker room in thirty seconds flat. I spent the twelve minutes it took to walk home trying not to think about Edward. Of course, that failed miserably and I was even more confused than I had been before.

_Yay for me._

I spent the next couple of hours trying to clear my head. I showered, made dinner, did my homework - but nothing even remotely helped occupy my mind.

Since I was an open book with pretty pictures, Charlie was able to detect something was wrong. We were halfway through eating dinner when Charlie cleared his throat. "Bella, you're awfully quiet. Is there anything you want to talk about?"

His question surprised me. We were both the suffer-in-silence type, not really the broadcast-your-problems-to-the-world type.

"Not really. I've just been thinking a lot lately," I told him with a shrug, not looking up from my food.

We finished dinner and I did the dishes, something that took less then five minutes to complete. I was about to climb the stairs, planning on listening to music or reading for the rest of the night when the sound of the football game Charlie was watching on television reached me. I turned around, going to the living room instead of upstairs. I sat down on the opposite end of the couch, tucking my feet under my legs. Charlie shot me a surprised look.

"Who's playing?" I asked with a small smile. This was the first time we had spent time together and hung out besides eating dinner together. I was almost positive Charlie noticed this too.

We spent the rest of the evening watching the game, Charlie yelling at the television, and me asking the occasional question, trying to refresh my memory of some of the rules. Once the game was done, I wished Charlie a goodnight and spent what felt like an hour trying to fall asleep.

I felt like crap when I woke up in the morning. I had woken up at 1:37, 3:19, and 5:58, and it had taken me forever to fall back asleep after each time I had woken up. I decided to not even try to go back to sleep when I woke up at 5:58 and made my way to the kitchen.

Charlie was surprised to see me eating a bowl of cereal at the kitchen table. "Bells, what are you doing up? You're usually dead to the world at this hour."

I merely shrugged my shoulders. "Couldn't sleep," I answered honestly.

Charlie nodded his head, poured himself a cup of freshly made coffee, and started making his way to the door. "Have a good day, Bella. Don't work yourself too hard."

"Thanks, dad. Same to you," I told him through a mouthful of cereal. Very ladylike, I know.

I took my time eating, showering, and getting dressed. I grumbled when I checked the clock on my way out the door. I would be really early for school, but it was better than sitting at home twiddling my thumbs.

I made sure I took my time walking to school. By the time I got there, I was arriving alongside the first few students.

My locker, bless its non-existent heart, opened and closed easily. It was almost as if it could tell that I was not in the mood to deal with its temperamental attitude today.

I slung my book bag over my shoulder and made my way to one of the few picnic tables scattered at the front of the school. I took out my _Macbeth_ book and opened it to the spot where I left off Monday during English class. I knew I would have homework to catch up on due to my absence yesterday.

I tried to block out the whispering and rumours but failed miserably. It had gotten to the point where I had thrown my book in my bag and was about to get up when Rose and Alice slid onto the picnic table bench on either side of me.

"I really don't want to push you about what happened, but please tell us as soon as you're ready. Em and Jazz wouldn't tell us much. They said it was yours to share if you wanted," Alice said and gave my hand a reassuring squeeze.

I realized that telling them would make my emotions and thoughts go loco. But then again, they could help me sort through my emotions and help me figure out what to do. I took a deep breath and started at the very beginning. Rose and Alice stayed silent, letting me talk but their facial expressions changed with every new thing I told them. By the time I finished, Rosalie, to put it bluntly, looked like she wanted to bust a cap in someone's ass; and Alice just sat there wide-eyed, with her mouth opened in shock.

"So, yeah, any suggestions would be appreciated."

Alice blinked. "Give us a bit of time to digest this first. I think this is only the third time in my whole life where I have been speechless."

The shrill sound of the warning bell pierced the air and everyone began hurrying to his or her first period class.

Rose was slow to stand up.

"Rose, are you okay?" I asked tentatively.

She nodded and let out a humourless laugh. "Gym is going to be interesting today. Trust me," she told Alice and me before heading off.

Alice and I hurried to English and stepped foot in the classroom just as the bell rung. Mr. Smith glared at us as we made our way to our seats. Once we were situated, Mr. Smith wasted no time in launching into his lesson.

I scanned the room while paying attention to what he was saying. I had to do a double take when I realized Mike's seat was empty.

**~!~DBSYPWTBB~!~**

English passed by excruciatingly slow. I didn't know if it was because of the unexpected pop quiz he gave us ten minutes into class, or because Alice had yet to say a single word. She was honestly starting to scare me.

The walk to our second period classes was quiet. It surprised me when I heard Alice's quiet voice say, "Bye Bella," as I walked into my Biology classroom.

As soon as Angela saw me enter the classroom, she waved me over to her desk. "Here's the homework you missed. I meant to give it to you when we visited the hospital at lunch, but I completely forgot it in my bag," she informed me as she gave me a few sheets of paper.

It took a few moments before her words caught up with me. "Wait, what? You visited me in the hospital? Who's 'we'? How did you know I was there?"

Angela laughed. "Whoa, slow down there, Bella. Yes, I did. 'We' is Alice, Rosalie and I, followed by the guys five minutes after us. And Emmett and Jasper told Ben who told me."

I wondered why no one had told me any of this yesterday or this morning.

"The guys as in Ben, Jasper and Emmett," I asked.

"And Edward," Angela added, looking surprised I left him out.

"And Edward," I whispered silently to myself.

Mr. Banner entered the room and I thanked Angela before going to my seat. I honestly tried my best to pay attention and managed to only let my mind wander a handful of times… maybe two handfuls…

Angela and I met up with Alice outside the door and we made our way through the crowded halls. I decided I would bring up the subject of visiting me in the hospital when we got to the locker room.

Rose was in the process of changing when we entered. She appeared to be much more calm than she was this morning before school started.

"So," I began casually. "At what point was someone going to tell me that you guys came to the hospital?" I teased.

Alice and Rose both gave me apologetic looks. "Sorry, Bella," they said at the same time.

"I was so," Rose paused, trying to find the right word. "Overwhelmed this morning. It completely slipped my mind."

I gave them a small smile. "It's okay," I assured them. "It just surprised me and caught me off guard when Angela told me. Charlie didn't mention anything about it to me, plus the guys didn't say anything at practice."

"Well, Charlie didn't even know, so that one's easy to explain. The guys probably didn't mention anything because they didn't want you to tell your dad."

I stared at Alice in confusion, waiting for her to elaborate. Why was Charlie not supposed to know about them visiting me?

Angela continued for Alice. "The guys figured your dad would be pissed at them because they are part of the football team. Jasper and Emmett knew your dad knew they weren't part of the hazing, but they were still a bit wary. That's why we girls came first. We were going to see if your dad was at the hospital and tell the guys. We thought they were just being stupid, but decided to humour them anyways. Your dad wasn't there, so we let the guys know it was okay to come. You were passed out, oblivious to the world the whole time, and we weren't able to stay that long because we came during lunch."

I couldn't help but smile. I had been in Forks for less than a week and I already had friends. Friends that cared about me enough to visit me in the hospital.

By now, we were all done changing and making our way out of the locker room. I surprised the three of them when I pulled them into a big group hug and thanked them for visiting me, telling them how much it truly meant to me. Once we got to the gym, Rose immediately began scanning the gym thoroughly, frowning as she looked a full circle.

Apparently I wasn't the only one to realize this.

"Um, Rose?" Alice called softly. "What's wrong?"

She turned to look at us and I stifled a gasp as I saw the fiery anger in her eyes. "Where's Newton?" she asked through gritted teeth.

"He's not here," I told her carefully, watching as her eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "Well, he wasn't in English this morning…"

Rose cursed loudly, causing Angela, Alice and I to jump in surprise. She took a deep breath before giving us an apologetic look. "Sorry," she apologized. "I was going to give Newton a piece of my mind, but I guess that won't be happening today."

Rose's words from this morning flashed in my mind: "_Gym is going to be interesting today, trust me."_

Everything clicked into place. There were already a few things I knew about Rosalie, one of which was that you did not want to get on her bad side. And Mike Newton… he was on her bad side. Surprisingly, I was slightly upset Mike wasn't here today. If he were, our entire Gym class would no doubt have had the pleasure of seeing Mike get humiliated.

Rose remained grumpy during class, releasing some of her pent up anger as we played tennis.

Unfortunately for me, to add to my complete lack of coordination, the tennis courts were in terrible shape. They were full of cracks with weeds sprouting out; small, sharp looking rocks littered on the ground; and located about a foot away from the court I was playing on, was broken glass. Needless to say, I was running to get the ball and tripped thanks to one of the many cracks, skidded a good few feet on the hard ground, and scraped the right side of my body on the copious amount of tiny rocks. I was lucky enough to stop a few inches away from the pile of broken glass.

Rose, who just so happened to be my partner, flung her racket on the ground and ran over to where I lay. I managed to push myself off the ground and stand back up just as Rose reached me. The two people that we were playing against had started to make there way over to where we were.

"I'm fine," I assured them, shaking off the lingering tingly feeling in my arm and leg.

Fortunately, everyone else was concentrating on his or her own game and didn't see me wipe out.

"Oh yeah, that's why you're bleeding," Rose said, gesturing to my arm.

I glanced down and sure enough, there was a thin trail of blood, trickling from my elbow down to my wrist.

When I looked back up, Rose was jogging away. "Where are you going?" I asked.

She didn't answer. She stopped in front of Coach Clapp and started talking to him. Their conversation was short, and Rose returned with a fuming look on her face.

"Rose, are you okay?" I asked for the second time today.

"Our teacher is an ass," she stated with a glare in his direction.

No surprise there. I learned that my first day here… less than ten minutes into Gym class.

"I told him what happened, and he rolled his eyes and told me to take you to the nurse but to make sure I didn't let you bleed on _his_ courts," she spat.

Really? I mean, if we were inside, I would understand if he said something like, "Try not to let her blood get on the floor." But we were outside playing on the crappy concrete tennis courts.

Wow. Just, wow.

Rose and I made our way to the nurse's office located near the front of the school. The cut of my arm had begun to bleed more along the way, so by the time we reached the nurse, the entire backside of my forearm was smeared in blood.

I refused to look as the nurse cleaned up my arm and tried to get out as many of the tiny rocks embedded in my cut as she could. Every now and then, I could see Rose flinch as the nurse got out a particularly large rock. The only reason why I knew the size of the rock was because I could feel it expanding my skin as the nurse pulled it out. Once the nurse was sure all the dirt and rocks were out, she dosed my arm with rubbing alcohol and taped pieces of gauze to my elbow and forearm.

I gave her a small smile and thanked her as Rose and I made our way out of the office. Rose assured me the cut wasn't that big. It was deeper at my elbow and got thinner as it traveled down my arm.

We were still walking in the hall when the bell rang, signalling the end of class and the beginning of lunch. I hadn't realized it took that long to clean up my cut.

Rose and I had to fight through crowds of people, taking us even more time to finally reach the locker room. We were the only ones in there seeing as everyone else had already finished changing and left for lunch. I carefully manoeuvred my arm in and out of my clothing as we changed quickly.

We exited the locker room and Emmett was casually leaning on the opposite wall with a grin on his face. His smile dropped with each step we took closer to him. By the time we stood right in front of him, a small frown marred his face. He raised his right hand to tuck one of Rose's stray, blond locks behind her ear, caressing her cheek in the process. "Who's ass am I kicking, babe?" he asked tenderly, yet full of authority.

Rose let out a breath that was surprisingly unsteady. "Newton and Clapp, but I call them both."

"Talk to me, Rosie." Emmett's voice was such a gentle tone; it took me by surprise.

"I'll meet you guys in the cafeteria," I mumbled quickly, feeling as if I was interrupting them somehow.

Lunch was quite interesting. Edward and I ended up sitting across from one another, always seeming to accidentally catch each other's eye. Edward remained silent for the most part, answering questions directed towards him with only a few words. He excused himself from the table when there was just under ten minutes left of lunch, and I noticed that there was a lot of uneaten food on his tray... not very Edward-like at all.

I left a couple minutes later and made my way to my locker. I grabbed my books and I accidentally shut my locker with more force than necessary. A few students nearby turned to look at me but I honestly didn't care.

I was having a crap day, and now I was getting to the point where I just didn't care about anything. It sucked.

Edward was already in his seat when I got to the classroom. He gave me a small, sad smile and that was it. No greeting. Nothing.

My heart actually ached a bit. I missed being friends with Edward. It had caused awkwardness between the six of us, and it was my fault, seeing as I had been the one to make the decision.

Math passed. History passed.

It was the end of the day and I threw all my books in my backpack. I had so much homework to catch up on from missing yesterday, plus the homework I got today.

I kicked my locker shut and started making my way to the locker room. I was about to push open the door when a strong hand grabbed my arm. I turned to see that Jasper was the owner of the hand. He gave me a smile and released his grip on my arm.

"I forgot to tell you this during History, but today is weight room Wednesday. Basically, every Wednesday we go work out. It's not mandatory but it is good to go."

"Oh, okay. Thanks."

I turned to enter the locker room but Jasper caught my arm again.

"Are you okay, Bella?" he asked, concern evident in his eyes.

I shrugged. "Sure."

"That's not an answer." His voice disapproving.

"I honestly don't know," I told him as he dropped his arm and allowed me to enter the locker room.

I threw on my ugly gym uniform and made my way to the weight room were most of the team already were. The weight room smelt of testosterone, rubber from the mats, iron from the weights, stale, disgusting sweat, and nasty male body odour.

_Lovely._

Ben spotted me the moment I entered, walking over to me and proclaiming that he had appointed himself with the task of taking me under his wing.

"We'll start off with legs since that's what we need to work on the most as kickers."

I knew that my legs were the most in shape part of my body, but what Ben had us doing made them feel like weak, useless limbs that were on fire. We did leg press, leg curls, leg extension, calf raises, and inner thigh raises. My horrible balance was emphasized when we did the squats on the half yoga ball looking things that I learned were called BOSU balls. Yeah, it wasn't a pretty sight.

"Ready to tackle bench pressing?"

Wait. What?

I turned so I was facing Ben. "Ben, why would I need to work on my arms when I all need to do is kick?" I mean, it made sense, right?

"Because you need to tank it up!" Emmett answered, popping out of nowhere.

"Tank it up?" I repeated.

"Touch it, Bella." Emmett flexed his right arm. "Go on, touch it."

I did, giggling as I realized how absurd this must look. It was nice and firm, practically as hard as a rock.

"That's from tanking it up," Emmett told me with a wink, draping his arm around my shoulder and walking me towards the bench press.

I was already feeling self-cautious since I was wearing a grey shirt that easily displayed my nasty sweat stains. And now I was going to attempt to bench press for the first time in my life. _Fantastic. _

I lied down on the bench, shifting slightly so I was more comfortable.

"How much do you think you can do?" Ben asked.

"Uh, the bar," I answered seriously. "I've never bench pressed before."

"Okay, we'll start you with just the bar and see how you do." Emmett gave me a smile. "So, put your hands were my hands are right now."

I reached my hands towards the iron bar, placing my hands where Emmett's had just been.

"Now lift the bar up, and bring it down so it touches your chest before pushing it back up again."

It wasn't too bad. I was always uneven as I lifted the bar, the left side always slightly higher than the right which made no sense to me since I was right handed and would have more muscle in my right arm. And I definitely felt the burn in my shoulders. But besides that, I think I did okay. The bar wasn't too heavy but I refused weights when Ben said he was going to see how I did with two and a half pounds on each side.

Emmett left Ben and me after I finished my bench pressing, going to join Edward on the cardio machines. Ben and I did a bit more work on my arms. We did chest flies and chest press, me with my little eight-pound weights and Ben with his thirty-pound weights.

"We'll finish up with abs. We'll only do a few things today," Ben told me as he led me over to a clear area with mats.

We did plank, superman, and a ton of different types of crunches: regular, side, bicycle, and tabletop. And when you do thirty of each kind, you feel the burn. A lot.

"I hate you right now, Ben," I huffed out while holding my burning abs.

Ben laughed. "You sound like Angela when I made her come to the weight room a few times last year."

"Well, Angela is a smart woman who knows what she's talking about."

Ben placed both of his hands above his heart. "You're ripping my heart out of my chest right now, just to let you know," he teased.

"Good!" And I meant it… sorta… not really.

Ben burst out laughing. He seemed to be perfectly fine, not feeling any pain or unpleasant burning sensations anywhere on his body. Emmett, Jasper and Edward made their way over to where Ben and I were. Their shirts were covered with sweat and grime, showing evidence of a good workout.

"Ben, are you all finished killing Bella over here?" Emmett asked with a grin in my direction.

"Yes!" I shouted quickly, not giving Ben the opportunity to answer.

"Alright then. Bella, do you want a ride home?" Emmett asked.

I could hear _Hallelujah_ playing in the air. I was honestly so tired and sore that if a rickety, old van driven by a creepy clown came up beside me and offered to give me candy if I got in the van with him, I would probably do it.

"You are the best, Emmett. Thanks."

"Don't thank me. Edward was the one to propose the idea of offering you a ride home - I was just happy to comply," Emmett explained with a nod in Edward's direction. That was unexpected. Edward looked slightly uncomfortable but had a small smile on his lips. I thanked him and gave him a timid smile.

I was quick to leave the weight room and grab my stuff from the locker room, not even bothering to change, knowing I was going to shower when I got home. The car ride was a bit awkward. Jasper was in the front seat and I was in the backseat with Edward. It was obvious we were both trying to not look at each other. The massive Jeep seemed to have shrunken to the size of a cardboard box. Oh yeah, good times.

Emmett was able to find my house with only minimal directions from me. I thanked him for the ride and said goodbye to all three of them before hopping out. They waited, idling on the road, until I was safely inside. Knowing Charlie wasn't home, I stripped my sticky shirt off on my way up the stairs. I threw my backpack in my room before continuing on to my destination: the shower.

I turned the shower on, letting the water warm up as I finished undressing. I was _so_ sore. Usually, my showers took around fifteen minutes, but I knew that I was in there for a good half an hour, just letting the warm water wash over me and sooth my aching muscles. I didn't want to get out of the shower at all, but when the water began to turn cold, I grudgingly turned the water off.

Dinner ended up being grilled cheese since I didn't have much time to make it, due to the horrendous amount of homework I had. I ended up staying up until 11:30 getting everything finished. I already knew that I would be taking a nap tomorrow when I got home.

School the next day was surprisingly uneventful. Well, except for my body screaming in agony every step I took. I think I found it so uneventful because all these nights of not enough sleep were finally catching up with me. I couldn't focus on anything and was having trouble sitting still in class.

But, that reminded me! In Math, I noticed that Edward had deep, dark circles under his eyes, looking like he hadn't slept at all. I was sure the two of us looked like quite a pair, sitting next to each other, both with dark circles under our eyes and looking like we could be extras in an apocalypse movie.

Practice was interesting to say the least. Warm up was death. Everywhere was still burning from yesterday's work out in the weight room and I still felt it with every movement I made. Mr. Wilson was intense, getting us ready for tomorrow's game. It was by far my hardest practice yet.

The offense was working on their plays and I watched them more than I paid attention to the kicks I was suppose to be perfecting for tomorrow. It was easy to tell that something was wrong with Edward. He was messing up a lot, fumbling with the ball and not being his agile self.

I noticed Mr. Wilson call Edward over. They talked for a bit, Edward frowning and periodically nodding his head. Edward's gaze strayed and his green eyes met mine from across the field, ripping them away the second they met. Edward nodded a few more times before taking off and running along the track, no doubt running a mile.

As usual, we ran plays against each other at the end of practice. When the PAT unit got on the field I walked over to Edward.

"Are you okay?" I asked seriously.

Edward had seemed a bit better after running his mile but he was still making mistakes left and right, not being able to focus or concentrate. It had started to worry me.

Edward snapped his head towards me, obviously surprised. He nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay."

Our plays went smoothly and Edward had no problem catching and teeing up the ball. And since Neil was nowhere to be seen, there was no drama on the field. I didn't know if he had been kicked off the team or if he just wasn't here today.

Just when I thought we were done with practice, Mr. Wilson yelled, "Everyone to the end zone. We're doing a suicide."

I gulped… very loud. Doing a suicide in a gym was bad enough, but on a football field, this was going to epically suck.

Mr. Wilson blew his whistle and we all ran out to the twenty-five yard line, turning sharply and returned to the end zone. I was panting heavily already. I wasn't used to running a lot in the heavy football equipment and I was obviously handicapped by it as I was already one of the slowest ten people. I ran to the fifty-yard line, then back to the end zone, out to the seventy-five yard line, back to the end zone, and finally to the far end zone and back.

I felt like collapsing and my breathing was laboured. My lungs were burning and I felt as if I couldn't get enough air. Plus, I felt overheated from my equipment. I was just starting to feel dizzy when someone pushed a water bottle in my hand and effortlessly got my helmet off me. I looked to see it was Pierre, a short yet muscular guy in my grade who had skin the shade of mocha.

"Thanks," I managed to pant.

"Drink," he ordered with a barely visible smirk, gesturing to the water bottle in my hand.

I held the water bottle a few inches away from my mouth, squeezing it, causing a refreshing stream of water to shot in my mouth. I did this several more times before tossing the water bottle over with the other community bottles.

That was thankfully the end of practice. I didn't know how I was going to do this. I hadn't even been a week yet and football practices were taking their toll on me.

We were all walking back towards the school and Emmett appeared beside me. "I'm giving you a ride home," he told me, leaving no room for argument.

"Okay," I replied quickly. No way was I going to argue with that.

I was literally dripping sweat as I took off my equipment - the clothes that I wore underneath were absolutely drenched. I changed back into the clothes I had worn today so Emmett wouldn't have to deal with copious amounts of my sweat that were sure to be permanently embedded on his leather seats.

Once again, they waited until I was inside my house before driving off.

I showered and only bothered to throw on underwear and a tank top before I crawled under my covers for a nap. I was gone before my head even touched the pillow.

**~!~DBSYPWTBB~!~**

"Wake up, Sleeping Beauty."

Keeping my eyes shut, my hand searched near the headboard, trying to find my other pillow. Once I had it tightly in my grasp, I threw it in the direction the voice had come from.

"Look, Rose. Bella's a feisty one."

I cracked one eye open, looking at Alice, who was crouched by the side of my bed. Then I noticed Rosalie standing in my doorway.

"How did you get in?" I asked, my voiced muffled by my pillow.

"Your dad," Alice stated simply. "Now get dressed, we're going shopping in Port Angeles and we have to leave soon. We aren't taking no as an answer, so don't even bother starting an argument or being stubborn."

I knew Alice was being serious.

"Fine, get out so I can change," I sighed, defeated already.

Alice and Rose left my room, closing the door behind them. I got out of the warm, cozy comfort of my bed and rummaged my hand through my closet. I put on the first things I grabbed which happened to be my favourite pair of dark wash jeans and a green and white long sleeved shirt. I threw my hair in a messy bun, not caring how it looked, and grabbed my wallet from my dresser.

I made my way downstairs, seeing Rose and Alice talking with Charlie in the kitchen. I quickly threw on a pair of flip-flops and told them I was ready to go.

"Um, Bella. You do know that one is white and the other is black," Rosalie told me, gesturing towards my flip-flops.

I looked down. She was right.

"Oh, wow. I'm so out of it right now. Thanks, Rose."

I switched my black flip-flop for the other white one and we waved to Charlie as we made our way to the door, calling "Goodbye's" over our shoulders.

It was just under an hour drive to Port Angeles, most of which was spent by Alice and Rose making fun of me for still being out of it.

When we got to the mall, Alice got lucky as someone pulled out of a spot close to the building. Once we got inside, Alice spun on her heel to face Rose and I.

"Where to first?" she asked, literally bouncing with excitement.

"Food court?" I suggested, with a small smile.

Alice and Rose shot me disapproving looks.

"What? I'm always hungry when I wake up," I defended.

Three minutes later, we were walking through the mall with me happily munching on my vinegar drenched fries.

We visited a couple stores, not really seeing anything that caught our eye. The fifth store that we visited was like a gold mine. Alice ended up getting three shirts, two sweaters, and two pairs of jeans. Rose got four tank tops and a pair or jeans. I got a shirt and two sweaters.

We were on a roll of good stores. Rose and Alice got some stuff in each store, while I had sporadic moments. We thankfully hit Victoria's Secret, seeing as I was in dire need of some new bras. I felt like celebrating when I saw they were having a sale because honestly, the price of bras at regular price was just ridiculous. Anyways, the three of us took advantage of the sale, getting a couple bras each. We paid for our undergarments, thanking the cashier as we left the store.

I stopped short when we exited the store. Emmett, Jasper and Edward were sitting on one of the benches right outside the lingerie shop.

"I thought you guys said you weren't coming!" Alice exclaimed as she ran forward to embrace Jasper.

"We changed our minds at the last minute," Jasper told us with a grin.

They guys had a few bags each, showing that they, like us, had been here for a little while. The six of us stayed as a group as we checked out a few more stores.

We were on our way out of the mall when a bookstore caught my eye.

"Guys, sorry. Can I just check out the bookstore real quick? You can just wait out here, I won't be long."

No one had a problem with that, so I did a quick scan, grabbing a few books that caught my eye. I paid for them and made my way out of the store. I was in and out of there in less than four minutes, but Edward was the only one sitting on the bench outside the store.

"Where is everyone else?" I asked, looking around to see if they were somewhere nearby.

"I told them I would wait for you and drive you home so they could go if they wanted. Is that okay?" he asked softly.

I bit my lip and nodded. "Yeah. It's okay."

This was sure to be interesting.

I walked with Edward out of the mall and followed him as he led the way to his Volvo. He used his electronic keypad to unlock the car and popped the trunk where I tossed all my bags before hopping into the front seat. Edward closed the trunk and joined me in the car a few seconds later.

We put on our seatbelts and Edward started the car. He easily backed out of the parking space and made his way out of the parking lot.

I took off my flip-flops and folded my legs under me. I saw Edward peek at me out of the corner of his eye and I immediately felt bad. Maybe he didn't like people putting their feet of his seats.

"Is this okay?" I asked, not able to muster up the courage to look at him.

"Of course," he answered in a strangely low voice.

I sunk a glance at him. He had the sleeves of his sweater pushed up to his elbows. His left hand was tugging at his hair while his right held the steering wheel so tightly that I could easily see the tendons in his arm.

We had been driving along for around ten minutes when Edward unexpectedly pulled the car to the side of the road and turned it off.

"Why did the car stop?" I asked in a voice barely above a whisper.

"Because we need to talk."

Oh boy.

Edward was out of the car before I even got my seat belt off. I was slipping my flip-flops back on when I heard the sound of my door open. I looked up to see Edward standing outside the car with his hand on the handle. I climbed out of the car and thanked Edward as he shut the door after me. I made my way over to the rock that was conveniently located about ten feet from the car. I sat down Indian-style, startled by the immediate cold feeling I got on my butt.

"I messed up. I messed up, big time." Edward started to pace frantically. "I had everything I wanted to say planned out, but now I have no idea where to start."

"Just start from the beginning," I whispered so quietly that I wasn't sure he even heard me.

Edward tugged on his hair a few times before slowing the speed of his pacing. He let out a loud sigh before sitting on the rock beside me, leaving a comfortable amount of room between us. He opened and closed his mouth several times before beginning. "My first impression when I met you at lunch was that you looked like such a sweet, kind and nice girl. Not to mention exceptionally beautiful," he said.

I blushed at his words. That was the first time someone other than family members had ever called me beautiful. Cute, I got a few times, even adorable - but never beautiful.

Edward continued. "Seeing Mike stare at you like you were a piece of meat, then blow you a kiss just brought out my protective nature I guess. I knew Mike would try to take advantage of your newness, assuming you didn't know anything about his reputation. I knew that I had to protect you from Mike, even though I was fairly certain you had no interest in him whatsoever. He viewed you has the shiny, new toy he had to have.

"And then we were in Math, and the protectiveness I felt was replaced with fascination. Don't get me wrong, the protectiveness was still there, lingering under the surface, but I became spellbound watching you during Math."

I bit my lip, debating whether I should be freak out or touched that he watched me. I decided on touched, knowing that deep down I truly was.

"You were just so adorable," Edward told me with a low chuckle. "How you would listen intently to every word, tilt your head and furrow your eyebrows in confusion, and bite your bottom lip in concentration. Then how happy you got when you answered a question right, more so once you were able to do it without my help."

Oh yeah, I was definitely touched.

"Bringing us to the game. I knew Alice and Rose had planned on dragging you to the game, and I was both excited and nervous when I saw you sitting in the stands with them."

I interrupted for the first time. "Why were you nervous?"

Edward looked up and met my gaze. "I don't exactly know," he admitted with a small frown. "I think I may have some idea but I'm not certain."

"Why do you think?" I couldn't help but ask.

Edward ran his hand through his hair. "I think that's something to share another time." His eyes were pleading with me to let it go.

So I did. I gave him a nod and a small smile, encouraging him to continue.

"I heard you guys cheering. It is honestly one of the best feelings, having friends there to encourage you and cheer you on. I found that I was glancing up at you guys every chance I got, seeing if you were enjoying yourself."

The temperature had dropped dramatically while we – well, Edward - had been talking. I moved from my Indian-style sitting position, shifting so my legs were now pulled to my chest, curling myself in a ball.

Edward wordlessly pulled his hoodie over his head, his shirt riding up with the sweater, showing off his impressively toned stomach. My cheeks immediately flushed and I heard more than felt myself swallow. Edward finished pulling of the hoodie and fixed his black long-sleeved shirt. He held his sweater towards me. I knew this was out of kindness, not trying to get back on my good side.

I bit my lip, contemplating if I should wear it or not. I was only in a thin long-sleeved shirt but I had a couple sweaters in the trunk of the car that I had bought. It was only a matter of getting one of them. Plus, if I took it that would mean Edward wouldn't have anything to keep him warm.

When I didn't grab the sweater right away, Edward glanced over at me, a confused look clearly written on his face. A sharp wind came by, and I decided then that I wanted whatever warmth I could get right then. I hesitantly grasped the sweater, welcoming the soft feel of it between my fingers. Edward watched as I slipped it on, an unreadable expression on his face. The sweater was already warm and toasty, thanks to Edward's body heat.

"Thank you," I told him sincerely, only glancing at him for a quick second before dropping my head and blushing in embarrassment.

"Your welcome, Bella. Now, where was I?"

"Football game. Hearing us cheering. Looking up at us whenever you got the chance," I reminded him.

"Ah, right. Once the game finished, Em, Jazz, and I changed quickly, knowing that food was in our near future."

At this, I had to crack a grin. Sometimes boys were so predictable.

Edward didn't falter in his story. "Alice and Rose were waiting outside, as always, but you were no where in sight. I glanced around, immediately spotting you in the one spot that was protected from the rain. I couldn't help but grin as I jogged over to you. It was so cute how you were trying not to get wet – like you hadn't adapted to Forks yet.

"Once I reached you, we talked and teased each other. I loved how we were already friends and comfortable around each other even though we had only known each other for less than a day." He let out a bitter laugh. "That didn't last very long, thanks to me."

I felt the urge to comfort him. So I did. Much to his surprise, I reached over and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. He looked at me curiously, no doubt wonder why I was comforting him when it was his actions that caused our friendship to come to a screeching halt.

Yet in reality, I was an idiot - plain and simple. I had made a stupid, rash decision while my emotions had been on a roller coaster, taking the easy way out instead of working through my problems, ruining the start of something wonderful in the process. I hadn't even given Edward the chance to explain himself.

We were both at fault for this, and we both had things to apologize for. We were making progress, yet far from where we had been before this whole fiasco occurred.

Edward gently squeezed back, his eyes shimming with a glimmer of hope. "Then, of course, Emmett had to come and ruin our quality time together, reminding us it was time for pizza. I instinctively pulled your hood up, trying to protect you the best I could from the rain, and grabbed your hand, giving you no choice but to run in the rain with me. It was exhilarating, and I felt so carefree.

"At the restaurant, I noticed how well you fit in with the group of us. You fit in perfectly, making it seem as if we have all been friends and known each other forever. You were right in there with all the teasing and joking."

I got a flashback of the restaurant: Emmett proposing. Then a short while later, accidentally playing footsies with Edward, remembering the teasing that followed afterwards.

"When you showed up to tryouts, everyone was surprised. We weren't expecting that at all. Most of the guys thought it was just a joke until you took your first kick. I knew that there were a few guys pulling for you, even though they didn't want to admit it."

I couldn't help but snort. "Yeah, you, Jasper, Emmett, and Ben."

"Along with Pierre, Greg, and Francis, for sure. There are a few more now," Edward informed me, sounding sure of himself.

I was floored. I had no idea anyone else on the team was even a smidgen okay with having me, a dainty lady, on the team.

"After you made the team, Mike had to open his big mouth and make some dumb comment that encouraged other idiots of the team to say something." The bitterness in Edward's voice was obvious. "When we got to Alice's, it was obvious something was bugging you - we all noticed. I hoped that I distracted you when I joined you in the kitchen and we had our 'get to know each other' time."

A small smile graced my lips, remembering the memory. Learning about his love of waffles and his dislike of Poptarts, along with other random bits of information I admit were committed to my memory… including his inability to give foot massages.

"This is gunna sound corny, but that night I had one of the best sleeps of my life, besides the sore neck the next morning." A smile flirted on the edge of Edward lips. "And, of course, our interesting car ride as I drove you home, talking about Disney movies and its wonderful characters."

Oh how well I remembered that car ride. I hated the next day of school because I kept thinking about what he said. _"Bella, it's not lying, it's flattery. Get use to it."_ It confused me and bugged me to no end, not knowing what exactly he meant by that. I figured now was not the right time to question him about it.

The wind picked up now and I shivered despite the warmth from Edward's sweater.

"I was so proud of you at practice the next day. You didn't care what the guys thought and held your own the entire time. But when Neil just let Travis through and let him tackle you, I was absolutely livid. You have no idea what it took for me to resist the urge to repeatedly punch Neil in the face. Then, he did it again. Neil didn't block and let Nathaniel come charging through this time. I didn't even care about the fact that I was suppose to set up the ball for you - I just wanted to make sure you would be safe… that you wouldn't get hurt.

"Then, of course, your hazing," Edward's voice became low and thick, and he cleared his throat uncomfortably. "I know you probably won't believe this, but it was absolutely heartbreaking to watch you get hazed. I told the guys straight up that I wasn't going to participate and help them. My plan was to untie you the second they left, but I wasn't expecting you to tell me to leave. I wasn't going to leave you there. I planned on ignoring your orders and getting you free, but when I heard the pain in your voice and saw the disappointment and anger in your eyes, I didn't know what to do. I knew I still wanted to get you untied, but at the same time, I didn't want you to get pissed off at me even more because I didn't listen to you. When you flinched away when I touched you, I knew that I was the last person you wanted there, so I made a decision that I will always regret… I left." Edward took a deep, unsteady breath. "If I hadn't left, you would have never been in the hospital and maybe, just maybe, things between us would be a bit better."

I closed my eyes and swallowed the small lump forming in my throat as I was hit with the memory of that night. I could hear the thunder perfectly, feel the rain hit my face, and feel the rope digging harshly in my skin. I subconsciously began rubbing my wrist, where I still had a few small scrapes and traces of rope burn. This motion didn't go unnoticed by Edward. His eyes tightened slightly and his hands curled into tight fists.

Memories of Mike and the dog collar hit me like a ton of bricks. My eyes snapped open and I took an unsteady breath as I raised a shaky hand to my neck, rubbing it as if I were attempting to rub away the memories.

Edward watched my neck, almost as if he was searching for something. "Where did you get the cuts on your neck anyways? I've been wondering." Edward raised his hand towards my neck, almost as if he was going to touch it.

"The dog collar."

Edward's hand froze in midair and his eyes snapped to mine. "Bella, what dog collar?" His voice was dead serious.

"The one Mike put on me, after you left." I felt guilty immediately after saying it. I was positive that just made Edward feel even worse, adding another reason onto the list of why he shouldn't have left.

I admit, Edward was starting to scare me. He was sitting completely still and silent, and looked like he was ready to punch something. We sat there for a while; my guess was somewhere close to five minutes. When Edward exhaled loudly, I took it as I sign that he had calmed down a bit. For the second time tonight, I took his hand in mine and gave it a gentle squeeze, offering as much comfort as I could.

That seemed to be what Edward needed as his shoulders visibly relaxed and some of the tightness around his eyes disappeared. "I'm so sorry for everything I've done, Bella. I've done stupid things and made decisions I will regret for all of my life. I need you to know I never meant for things to turn out like this, and if there was any way I could make this right, I would in a heartbeat. I just want things to get back to normal. I know this won't happen right away, but I'm hoping that things will get better over time."

I wanted to be able to forgive Edward. The words were on the tip of my tongue. But, my gut was telling me it wasn't time to forgive him just yet… that I had to give it more time so we wouldn't mess this up again.

I struggled, trying to find the right words. "Edward, I want to be able to forgive you and be able to trust you again… so much. But, my gut is telling me that I just can't forgive you yet. I know that things will eventually get back to normal and this whole thing will be behind us. But right now we have to work on this one day at a time, and we're going to need patience because I have no idea how long it will be before I am able to forgive you."

Edward gave me a small smile, full of understanding and hope. "I'm not asking for your forgiveness or your trust because I know you aren't ready to give me those nor do I deserve them yet. Bella, right now, all I'm asking for is another chance."

I gave him a timid smile. "I think I can do that."

"And I won't mess up this second chance," he vowed, his eyes glimmering with the truth.

"That sounds good to me."

And I knew at that moment that things were starting to look up.

* * *

**SNEAK PEAK- Chapter Six**

**"Rose, hurry up! Emmett's ass is in my face.**


	6. Moving in the Right Direction

**Dear Bella Swan, you're Playing with the Big Boys**

**Disclaimer-I don't own Twilight**

**So..umm...yeah…this is why I don't have a posting schedule. Real life sucks sometimes and you have no idea how happy I am to be writing again. I know I've been massively slacking at replying to reviews (BUT I DO READ ALL OF THEM) and I apologize for not replying.**

**Thank you everyone who encouraged me and thank you everyone who is still following this story, regardless of my spotty updating. I know a lot of people have probably given up on it and I understand, but thanks to everyone still sticking with it. I'm crossing my fingers that there will not be another wait that is this long. Here is chapter six after a very long awaited wait.**

This chapter has been edited by **Edwardsfavoritebrunette** and **My-Heart-Of-Music.**

Chapter 6: Moving in the Right Direction

A huge weight seemed to be lifted as the air between Edward and I cleared a bit. It was still foggy, but it wasn't as dense or as dark as it had been before.

Edward pushed himself off the rock, stretching his stiff muscles from sitting in one position for so long. I quickly followed, scrambling off the rock and walking on my unyielding legs. I was reaching for the passenger door handle when Edward's hand shot out and grabbed it first. I took a few steps back, giving him the room he needed to open the door. I thanked him quietly and slid onto the seat, once again taking off my shoes and curling my feet under me. Edward jogged around the front of the car, joining me moments later. We put on our seatbelts and Edward started the car, flipped on his signal and smoothly merged into traffic.

"I'm sorry," I apologized softly, looking at my hands in my lap.

"Why are you sorry? You've done nothing to apologize for." Edward sounded truly confused.

I let my teeth sink into my bottom lip before releasing it. "For not giving you the chance to explain, for saying we weren't friends… for everything," I whispered.

"Bella, you don't need to apologize for that. You had every right to say those things."

Now I had to look at Edward. How could he even think I had the right to do that? He was making me feel like a horrible person. "No, I had no right to do that! I acted on impulse; I wasn't even thinking clearly," I objected.

Edward tightened his grip on the steering wheel. "Bella, can we please stop talking about this?" His voice was soft, almost pleading.

"Fine."

Silence lingered in the car for a few long moments.

"But just for the record, I forgive you."

I bit my lip and turned so I was looking out the window, watching the blur of trees and looking at Edward's reflection. Just like that he was able to forgive me. Why couldn't I just forgive him? Why was my gut telling me not to? Why did I have to be so confused and messed up? Why did I have to be the reason Edward and I weren't yet friends again?

"How can you be so forgiving?" I asked, a hint of jealously in my voice.

Edward shrugged and flicked his gaze my way. "It's in my nature," he explained simply. "I get it from my mom."

"Oh."

The car was quiet for most of the trip back to Forks. Within minutes of entering the town, Edward pulled up behind Charlie's cruiser in the driveway. I opened my door and walked towards the back of the car while Edward popped the trunk. I grabbed all my bags as Edward made his way over to me. I allowed myself a glance at him only to find he was already looking at me. His eyebrows were slightly furrowed, his shoulders seemed tense and he appeared to be looking at me without really seeing.

"Edward?" I called softly.

He shook his head slightly, unclogging his mind. He cleared his throat and gave me a small smile before he took a step forward to close the trunk. His eyes darted over to mine before he quickly averted his gaze. "Can I drive you to school tomorrow?" he murmured, his gaze focused on the moon glowing high above the trees.

I bit my lip and cast my eyes to the ground. The conversation we had earlier flooded into my mind. Progress was what we needed for things to return to normal, and Edward driving me to school would be baby-steps in the right direction.

"Sure."

**~!~DBSYPWTBB~!~**

True to his word, Edward picked me up the next morning. I was checking my backpack for the fourth time - making sure I had my uniform - when I heard the crunching of the gravel driveway. A knock sounded on the door shortly after. I let Edward in and noted he was clad in his football jersey, a pair of light wash jeans and a crooked smile.

"I'll just be a sec," I told him as I ran up the stairs, grabbing my shoes from my room.

When I came back down, Edward was looking at me with an odd expression on his face.

"Where's your jersey, Swan?"

I gestured to my backpack. "In my bag."

Edward crossed his arms across his chest and raised his eyebrows. "Well, put it on."

I rolled my eyes and grabbed the green fabric from my bag, slipping it on over my shirt. I looked over at Edward. "Better?"

He grinned. "Much. All set?"

I nodded and followed Edward out the door, making sure to lock it up behind me. We reached the car and he opened the passenger door for me. I gave him a small smile in thanks and slid into the car.

"So, why are we wearing our jerseys to school?" I asked once Edward started the engine.

"School spirit, I guess. It's just to get everyone in game mode all day," he explained with a shrug.

I felt my eyebrows scrunch. "But you guys weren't wearing your jerseys last week."

"That's because we got them right before the game. Last week was our first game of the season."

Ah, that would make sense.

The rest of the short car ride was spent in silence. Things between us were still a bit awkward and I knew both of us were struggling to find something to talk about. Edward parked in a spot close to the school and hooked his arm through mine when I started walking towards the side door. Wordlessly, he led me towards a cluster of picnic tables located near the front doors. As we approached, I noticed Jasper, Rose, Alice and Emmett seated at one of the tables. Alice was the first one to see us coming and motioned me to sit on the empty bench beside her.

"So guess what interesting tidbit of information we just found out?" Emmett drawled as he leaned on the picnic table across from me. When I didn't answer, he continued. "Mike didn't tear his ACL. He messed his knee up but definitely not to the extent that he is playing it up to."

My eyebrows rose. "Really?"

"Yeah and not a lot of people know it yet so he'll keep being dramatic about it," Jasper explained with a roll of his eyes. "How are you holding up, Bella? Excited for your first game?"

"…Sure."

"What kind of attitude is that? Show me your war face." Emmett growled and did a war face of his own, receiving many curious stares from other students in our vicinity.

I shook my head.

"C'mon, Bella," Emmett pleaded, his lips forming their way into a pout. "It's really not that hard. Edward, show her."

Without a second thought, Edward let out a loud roar and plastered his own intimidating expression on his face. Jasper quickly followed suit.

I looked at the three ridiculous guys in front of me and shook my head. "Not a chance."

This continued for a good two minutes. Thankfully the shrill ring of the warning bell forced us to get up and disperse to attend our first period classes.

"Just you wait, Bella! You can't deny us for long!" Emmett hollered before being swallowed by the crowd.

Alice snorted beside me. "Boys."

Throughout the morning, I received numerous 'good luck's' in the halls between classes and barely any glares. I was so nervous that I had already peed three times in the course of two classes. Angela, Alice and I were almost at the door of the change room when Mike bumped my shoulder.

"Don't choke tonight, Swan," he sneered. I resisted the urge to steal his crutch and repeatedly beat him over the head with it. Instead, I ducked my head and pushed past him.

When Angela, Alice and I entered the change room, I immediately noticed Rose's good mood. "What has you so…perky?" I asked.

Rose grinned. "Mike's here today."

"And that's a good thing why?"

"Oh, just you wait, Bella. Just you wait." Rose bent down to tie her shoe.

Alice, Angela and I shared a look. "So, raise your hand if you're officially excited for what she has planned," Alice whispered with a nod in Rose's direction. Angela and I quickly shot our hands in the air.

We finished changing and made our way to the gym where we were informed we would be playing football. I couldn't decide if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"Oh, this is going to be perfect," Rose muttered with a small smirk.

I guessed that answered my question: it was a good thing.

I was put on a team with Angela, Mike, a few other guys from the football team, and a collection of other kids from my class. Mike deemed himself quarterback because he was "the best" even though he was "crippled". Hell, I didn't even know why he was allowed to play when he was on crutches, let alone why he wanted to play when he was acting like he was on his deathbed. Knowing Mike, he probably brought a doctor's note or a note from his father giving him permission to participate.

It was probably about twenty minutes into our game of touch football when something amazing happened. My team had the ball and Rose was taking her turn as the rusher on her team. Once the ball was snapped back to Mike, Rose counted the mandatory three steamboats out loud before easily dodging the person playing center on my team and charged towards Mike. The panic in his eyes was evident as Rose didn't slow. She got two hands on him, effectively sacking him in terms of our touch football. However, Rose's two hand touch turned into a tackle as she and Mike fell to the ground.

I felt my jaw drop. Rose was my new hero. Half the class was howling with laughter while the other half remained in shock.

Rose pushed herself off the ground, saying something about tripping on the slippery ground. She looked my way and gave me a quick wink. I was tempted to bow down to her. Coach Clapp looked like he had no idea what to do - I didn't think he wanted to accept the fact that a guy got tackled by a girl.

Mike was slow to get up. He looked desperately at Coach Clapp, trying to make him call something. Coach Clapp just shrugged his shoulders and tried to calm everyone down. For the rest of class, Rose was dubbed Wonder Woman - a very fitting title in my eyes. Unfortunately, nothing else interesting happened for the rest of class. Rose was smart enough to know she probably wouldn't get away with bruising Mike's ego twice in one class.

The moment we got in the change room, I gave Rose a hug. "Thank you. You're the best!"

Rose let out a laugh and hugged me tight. "My pleasure. Seriously, tackling him felt so good."

I barely ate anything during lunch. My stomach didn't feel like allowing food to settle nicely and my legs didn't want to stay still. I excused myself from the table as early as deemed acceptable and walked through the halls just to move my legs. I made my way to my locker, intending to grab my books, but it decided it didn't want to open. I yanked on it multiple times, progressively pulling harder and harder. I was at the point where I was worried my locker would smack me in the face whenever it decided to open when a pair of strong yet gentle hands gripped my shoulders. I jumped in surprise and turned my head enough to see Edward standing behind me.

"You, little Miss, need to relax," Edward told me as he gave me a slight shake of the shoulders. He pulled me back a few steps before releasing my shoulders and moving to stand in front of my locker. He tugged on the locker and it wouldn't budge. He frowned slightly before smashing his shoulder against the locker. He quickly yanked it open and it creaked loudly on its old rusty hinges.

I thanked Edward and grabbed the books I needed. He shoved my locker shut in one fluid motion before we made our way through the halls towards his. We still had a few minutes before the warning bell rang so Edward took his time getting out his books, leaving us to stand in a semi-awkward silence.

"So, the weather seems pretty good right now," I said as I looked out the window at the end of the hallway.

Edward snorted. "Seriously, Bella? The weather?"

"What would you like me to talk about? Should I ask you if you had a duck what would you name it? Or should I ask you if you like cheese? Boxers or briefs? Summer or winter?"

Edward laughed and cut me off. "Whoa, okay I get it. Harold, yes, boxers and summer."

When we walked into math a few minutes later, I received matching glares from Mike and Jessica. I'm not quite sure what exactly I did, nor did I particularly care.

Just as Edward and I took our seat, Mike called my name. I turned to see what he wanted, only to find a sneer marring his face. "Don't choke, Swan."

"Shut up, Newton. No one likes you," Edward told him calmly.

"Coach, did you hear Cullen?" Mike whined with a finger pointed in Edward's direction.

Mr. Wilson looked up from checking his e-mail on the computer. "Yeah. What's your point? He's telling the truth."

A chorus of "ohhhh" floated in the air. Mike's face turned red and he started gaping like a fish. Jessica stroked Mike's arm and informed him that she still liked him. I couldn't help but let out a small snort before turning around to face the front of the classroom. Class started shortly after, and once we were finished copying a note off the board we were given the last half of class to work on our ridiculous amount of homework questions that required the aid of some serious mathematical caliber.

Mr. Wilson gave me a funny look after I asked him for the second time in fifteen minutes if I could go to the bathroom.

"What? I'm nervous," I admitted.

"You'll do fine. Stop psyching yourself out."

"Does that mean I can go to the bathroom?"

**~!~DBSYPWTBB~!~**

Jasper seemed to have an uncanny ability to calm people down. In history, we didn't talk about the game at all and Jasper somehow made me feel completely relaxed. Of course, that changed as soon as the bell rang. He walked with me to my locker and I walked with him to his before we made our way to the gym. The team slowly trickled inside, mainly in pairs and groups.

Once we were all settled on the bleachers, Mr. Wilson simply cleared his throat, effectively shutting us all up. "Now, I know I normally give a long speech, talk about our opponent, and review plays. Today will be a bit different. Today we will be watching the greatest movie of all time. I want you all to watch and listen carefully, and I want you all to learn some valuable lessons." Mr. Wilson's gaze locked with everyone's as his eyes slowly scanned the bleachers.

The assistant coach wheeled a TV cart into the gym and plugged it in. There was quiet chatter among the team as he skipped through the previews.

"We won't be able to get through the entire movie but hopefully some messages get through those thick skulls of yours."

"Coach, we don't have a racism problem on the team," one of the guys on the team pointed out, clearly confused.

"I know that and I'm thankful for that. But most of us seem to have a problem with accepting someone who's different, or as some of you see it, someone who doesn't belong."

I didn't need the lights on to see everyone's eyes flicker in my direction.

We started the movie and I was immediately entranced. I was so captivated by the movie that I didn't realize I had been slowly leaning forward until Jasper's steady hands caught me before I toppled down the bleachers. I cleared my throat quietly and awkwardly attempted to avoid Emmett, Jasper, and Edward's questioning look.

"The movie is captivating," I mumbled. They just chuckled.

We only got to watch an hour of _Remember the Titans_ before we were sent to change. I knocked on the door to the guys' locker room and wrung my hands nervously as I awaited someone to grant me entrance. Emmett was the one who answered the door. He looked behind him and told me to hold on a moment. He yelled at someone to put his pants on and waited a few seconds before opening the door wide enough for me to enter.

We sat down in front of a well-used chalkboard as Mr. Wilson stood and paced in front of it. We talked about the strengths and weaknesses of our opponent, the Northern Ninjas, and reviewed all of our plays. He really was a good coach - not that I had many coaches in my lifetime to compare him to. He pumped everyone up and made us feel confident. After his five-minute pre-game speech he glanced up at the clock. "Let's go."

My nerves really started to set in when we made our way to the field. The stands were already half-full and we had a fair amount of time before the game began. Our warm-up seemed to fly by and before I knew it, the team was huddled on the sideline with Mr. Wilson in the middle.

"Alright. It's the second game but that will not be an excuse for any mistakes or slacking. Defense, remember to stick on your man and not let him by. Offence, be quick, stay agile, and hold onto that ball. Let's do this!"

The whole team erupted in cheers and yells. Emmett, Ben and Austin – our captains- marched to where the referees were standing. I started shifting my weight from foot to foot. Depending on how the coin toss went, I could be the one starting off the game. Oh man, I felt as though I would mess my pants at a moment's notice.

_Please, please, please have us receiving first_, I prayed from my spot on the sideline. I couldn't see or hear what was happening on the field. When Emmett, Ben and Austin made their way back over to the team, Emmett caught my eye and gave me a wink. I let a breath that I didn't realize I was holding.

"We're receiving first," Emmett announced.

Hearing him say the words aloud made me feel a sense of relief. I knew I would have to kick eventually, but I didn't want it to be the opening play of my very first game.

The game started off with the other team kicking it deep in our end. We were able to return it to our own thirty five yard line before the player on our team – I admit, I had no clue whom it was – got tackled. All the guys on offense strapped up their helmets and jogged onto the field. Our team started off strong. Jasper threw a complete pass to Tyler who was tackled at the forty-eight yard line, giving us our first down. During the next play, we tried to rush it forward, only gaining four yards. We tried rushing again and lost two yards, making us third and eight. Luckily, Jasper managed to throw it to Edward who got a few extra steps before being grabbed by the waist and getting hauled down to the ground. I couldn't help but cringe. I knew Edward was okay - especially when he pushed himself off the ground with no effort, but I also knew that still had to hurt.

The game continued as we worked our way down the field. We were fourth and five at Northern's twenty-five yard line. Instead of trying to go for the down, we were going for a field goal - in other words, I was about to make my football debut. My shaky hands strapped my helmet on my head as I jogged onto the field. I could hear the whispers and see the pointed fingers. Apparently word hadn't spread to all the other teams yet - I guess it would now.

"You got this, Bella. It's an easy kick for you," Edward told me with a grin and a light slap on my back before kneeling a few feet in front of me.

I released a long breath and shook out my limbs. Emmett snapped the ball back to Edward who planted it effortlessly, twisting the laces away from me just a split second before my foot connected with the ball. It sailed through effortlessly. I heard the crowd cheer and I couldn't help but smile in satisfaction. I noticed that most of my teammates that were on the field had small grins on their faces, despite wanting me off their team.

I had to stay on the field to kickoff to the other team since I made the field goal. Although it was my first official kickoff, it was surprisingly decent. I hung back as I watched my teammates charge down the field, restraining myself from jumping up and down in celebration when someone tackled the guy on the other team seconds after he caught the ball.

I jogged off the field as the defense made their way on. It was only a few minutes before I had to go back onto the field because Pierre had intercepted the ball and ran it all the way down for a touchdown. Oh yeah - we kicked ass.

The game continued with us playing excellently and working well as a team. I thought I was starting to prove myself to the guys as I made every kick, receiving glares and some colorful word choices from the other team.

I was on some sort of adrenaline rush and it felt good. My heart was pounding and I felt giddy. I scanned the crowd and laughed aloud when I saw Rose and Alice holding a large sign with _**Girls Do It Best**_ written in bold pink letters.

There were only a few minutes left in the game and we were up 24-6 -their kicker couldn't make the one point conversion after their touchdown. Our offence players had the ball and were working their way down the field.

"You know Neil was kicked off the team," a deep voice said from beside me.

I turned to see Pierre standing next to me with his arms lazily crossed in front of him. I raised my eyebrows ever so slightly. "Really? When? Why?" I had my theories but I wasn't positive.

"Yeah, really. He was kicked off today. Coach suspended him from the team for attitude problems, but today in last period he flipped out on Coach and said some choice words that got him kicked off the team and suspended from school for a week."

"Do you know what he said?"

Pierre scratched the back of his head and gave me an apologetic smile. "Yeah, I'm in Coach's class with him so I heard the whole thing. He made comments about how the team is going to suck this year because all of us are apparently going to lose our balls now that we have a girl on the team. Only he used more words and a lot of cussing and arm movements. He also criticized him as a coach and said things like he gives you special treatment and other stuff like that. Coach kicked him off the team and then Neil tried to punch him, which got him suspended."

I felt my eyes go wide. "Wow."

"I know, right? But for the record, I think this game is changing a lot of the guys' opinions. Even though all you do is kick, you're playing well."

I decided to take that as a compliment. "Thanks."

"SWAN," Mr. Wilson bellowed. "Get ready to go. We don't have time to make it down the field so we'll try a field goal."

Pierre gave me a slap on the back. "Do it, Swan."

We waited as long as possible so I wouldn't be as far away but I ended up having to kick from thirty yards out. It was dangerously close to hitting the bottom bar but it luckily still went through. The game ended soon after and we ended up winning 27-6. We shook hands with the other team in which I received a fair amount of vulgar accusations and lewd suggestions. Teenage boys were far more disgusting, filthy, and vile than I had ever believed.

The team went straight to the locker room, to which I was instructed to follow. "Whoa, gents. Lady present," Jasper drawled as a few members of the team seemed to forget I was a girl and started stripping off their clothes.

We had a short talk about how the game went. We discussed things we needed to improve on and would work on next week during practice. The moment Mr. Wilson stopped talking, the guys started changing and I quickly hurried out of the room. I wanted nothing more than to posses a few hundred anti-bacterial wipes to wipe my body with. If given the choice of willingly hanging out in a guys' locker room for an hour or walk a mile on hot coals, I would gladly pick the coals.

I changed and decided that as much as I needed a shower, I would rather shower at home than the grimy change room showers. Though the girls' locker room was much cleaner than that of the boys', it was still a bit repulsive. I just sprayed a few extra squirts of body spray to tide me over for the time being.

Alice and Rose were waiting for me when I exited the door. "Wow, you change a lot quicker than the guys," Rose commented with a grin.

"That's probably because I decided that I'm just going to shower at home."

Alice nodded in approval. "Good decision. Those showers are revolting. Oh, and congratulations!"

"Why thank you."

"So, my house tonight after dinner. You in?" Alice asked.

"I do need to shower. Could one of you just drop me off at my house after we eat and I'll just meet you guys over there?

"No problem. But how will you get there?"

"Charlie should be home." Probably. Hopefully. I knew he was working late because he had told me he was unfortunately missing my football debut. He would probably end up getting home while I was in the shower or soon after.

We talked as we waited for the guys to emerge. It didn't take long once the boys came out for us to pile into vehicles and drive over to the restaurant. We didn't even order when we got there. Our drinks were brought to us followed by our food. My mouth was watering. Being bombarded by the smells and feeling the warmth radiating from the food was almost too much to handle.

"Whoa, calm down there, Speedy Gonzales," Emmett chastised with an easy chuckle.

I grunted and shoved another piece of pizza in my mouth. Hey, I was hungry.

"Seriously, Bella, how are you so tiny?" Rose asked, sounding almost envious.

I shrugged. "Good metabolism?"

Alice started telling the guys about going to her house and since I already knew of this, I focused my attention on what piece of absolutely non-nutritious food would enter my mouth next.

"Alright, so Alice's tonight. What are all of you guys doing tomorrow?"

A chorus of "nothing" answered Edward's question.

"Do you all want to come over then?" We nodded in agreement, too busy eating to verbally reply.

We stayed at the restaurant for a little while longer, talking as we finished eating. Rose drove me home and I was slightly surprised to see Charlie's cruiser in the driveway.

"Dad?" I called as I entered the house.

"Great game, honey," responded a voice from the living room. I peeked my head in, seeing Charlie out of his uniform and an almost finished a bottle of beer in his hand as he lounged on the couch. He had been home for a while.

"You were there? I thought you weren't getting off 'till the game was over."

"I left early. Being the Chief of Police has its benefits." Charlie grinned. Even though he didn't right out say it, I could tell he was proud. I told him about going to Alice's and ran upstairs to shower and change. Twenty minutes later I was dressed and climbing into Charlie's cruiser. The drive didn't take long and I was soon walking up the Brandons' driveway.

Rose was waiting at the door for me. "Don't be alarmed."

I gave her a weird look and as soon as I stepped foot in the house, I heard a heated debate between what was better: gummy bears or gummy worms. But it didn't sound like a little hissy fit. Oh no, it was a full on screaming match and when I entered the house far enough to see Emmett and Alice, they were flailing their arms, most likely attempting to emphasize whatever they were saying.

"Gummy worms are long and slimy and you can choke on them!" Emmett accused. "Plus worms in general are disgusting so why would you want to eat something that resembles them in the slightest?"

"You're such a cootie queen, Emmett!" I stopped listening to Alice's retort and turned to Rose.

"Should we be worried?" I asked, unable to remove my eyes from the scene before me.

"Who are you calling a cootie queen, you lint licker?" Emmett roared.

"Not unless real cussing begins," Rose whispered, leading me away from the bickering children and to the living room where Jasper and Edward looked mildly entertained. The quarrelsome argument eventually died down and Alice and Emmett joined us a few minutes later, sending glares to each other every three seconds.

"Alright, let's just agree everyone likes different kinds of candy," Rose said with an eye roll. "Emmett obviously likes gummy bears while Alice enjoys gummy worms. I like jelly beans, Jasper likes peanut M&Ms, I believe Edward likes mini marshmallows, and Bella...um, what candy do you like?"

"Hershey Kisses. Especially the caramel ones." Honestly, Hershey Kisses were my crack. The caramel ones were like little drops of heaven in your mouth.

"There we go. Moving on."

We were all drained for some reason so we didn't stay very long at Alice's house. Rose drove me home and it took all the strength I had to brush my teeth and change before going to bed.

I took advantage of my non-existent Saturday morning plans and just slept in. I didn't remember what time I woke up, but I knew I didn't get out of the warm comfort of my bed before one in the afternoon. I was having one of those days where you wake up and force yourself back to sleep five times just so you can stay in bed for a little while longer, only getting up when your stomach won't shut up or your bladder is on the verge of bursting. I spent the day just lounging and surfed through the forty some-odd channels we had because Charlie apparently didn't believe in digital cable or satellite.

Alice sent me a text reminding me about Edward's at 7:00 along with his address. She sent another one immediately after asking if I would need a ride. I assumed Charlie would be home by then, so I texted her back telling her I didn't need one.

I ate and started my attempt at looking human. By the time my hair was straightened and tamed, Charlie still hadn't come home. I figured Alice and the others went over early, so I decided to walk over. The rain wasn't _that _heavy so it wouldn't be a very miserable walk. I pulled my hood over my head and stuffed my feet into boots. I only made it a few houses down the road when Charlie's cruiser turned down the street. He pulled up next to me and rolled down his window.

"I'm going over to Edward's. I left a note of the kitchen table," I explained before he even asked.

"Get in, Bells." I climbed in and Charlie cruised down the street. "Edward's house, you say?"

"Yeah. Rose, Alice, Emmett and Jasper will be there too."

Charlie grunted and continued driving. He pulled into the driveway of a house just on the outskirts of town and… well… let's just say you could tell Edward's dad was a doctor.

"You got your phone?" Charlie asked as I stepped out of the cruiser.

"Yes, dad. Call when I need a ride home, I know." I gave him a wave as I made my way up the driveway. I knocked on the door, wringing my hands as I waited. I heard footsteps on the other side of the door and was soon greeted by Edward.

"I'm a little early, sorry," I apologized, only now realizing I was about thirty-some minutes early because I had been planning on walking.

"Don't be. Come on in." Edward opened the door wide and waved me into the house. I immediately noticed how beautiful the house was. It wasn't one of those nice houses where everything was methodically placed but the rooms looked stiff and unlived in. The Cullens' beautiful house was a true home - a place of comfort.

"How has your day been?" Edward's voice brought me back from my thoughts.

"Okay, I guess." I shrugged. "I've just lounged around and done nothing productive. You?"

"My mom made me clean the house," he told me as he led the way to the living room. He took a seat on one end of the couch and I sat on the other. "So, if you had a duck what would you name it?" he asked with a grin.

**~!~DBSYPWTBB~!~**

Approximately twenty-three minutes later we heard a vehicle pull up. Edward pulled himself off the couch and made his way to the door like the good little host he was.

"I want a rematch!" Alice declared as soon as Edward opened the door.

Edward rolled his eyes. "Fine. I'll go set it up."

The rematch was a game of cow racing on Wii Play. I had to admit, it was really intense. As in standing up, leaning towards the television, tongues sticking out in concentration, and the two of them alternating the lead in points. And… well… they were leaning towards the television so I couldn't help but notice that Edward's butt looked good in jeans. Like, really, _really_ good.

Alice ended up winning, though I couldn't say she won fairly. Edward had pulled ahead when there was ten seconds left and it looked as though he was going to win when Jasper just so happened to have a "foot-spasm", kicking Edward in the back of the knee. It distracted him enough for Alice to pull ahead and get the last few scarecrows before the time ran out. She won by three points and wouldn't play Edward in another rematch.

"Alright! Who wants to play something next?" Alice tossed the Wii remote at me before waiting for an answer.

We all seemed to excel in our own Wii Play games - well all of us but Jasper who just failed miserably. Alice rocked at finding the Mii, Rose at target shooting, Edward at pool, Emmett at ping-pong, and me at fishing – apparently excelling at any type of fishing ran in my DNA.

We only played for a bit, feeling bad because there were always four of us sitting out even though we all took turns. Emmett had gone to the bathroom and had returned carrying a box tucked under his arm. Once he was close enough, he tossed the box in the middle of the living room, an impish grin plastered on his face. I looked over at the box, reading the title upside down since that was how it landed. Twister.

I glanced around the room, trying to gauge everyone's reaction. A smirk was toying with Edward's lips, Jasper had an ear-to-ear grin, Alice was literally bouncing in her seat, Rose rolled her eyes yet there was a hint of a smile on her face, and Emmett, of course, was still grinning.

"Any objections?" Emmett asked, glancing as each of us.

The room stayed silent.

"This should be interesting," Edward commented as he pushed himself off the couch, taking the lid off the box and unfolding the mat. Once he had the mat set up, the six of us gathered around the edge.

"I'll be the caller," Rose offered, picking up the board and sitting down Indian-style on the floor a few feet from the mat. She placed the board in her lap and spun the black arrow. "Left hand, yellow."

And so the game of guaranteed awkwardness and erasing all possible personal bubbles began. By the third spin, we were all nice and cozy with everyone's limbs under and over and threaded through each other. By the fifth spin, my jeans decided they wanted to become gravity's best friend. Even though I miraculously happened to be in the best position of the five of us, I dropped, not wanting to accidentally moon anyone.

"Wait, what just happened?" Alice asked, trying to crane her neck from the position she was stuck in.

"My pants are falling down and decided dropping would be better then giving everyone a show."

Edward turned, or I should say, attempted to turn his head towards me. "Do you want a pair of shorts or something?"

I shrugged. "Doesn't matter."

Edward dropped, groaning as his elbow popped, and stood up. "I'll be right back," he told me as he made his way up the stairs. He returned a minute later, jogging down the stairs with a black and green bundle in his hand. "They should fit… kinda-ish. If they don't, I'll grab a pair of my mom's shorts. The bathroom is the first door on the right." He pointed me in the right direction.

The shorts were fairly big on me but thankfully there was a drawstring and I was able to roll the waistband a few times. When I got back to the living room, only Emmett and Jasper were left. They were twisted strangely and in my opinion, I thought Jasper had an advantage because of his longer limbs.

"Right hand, red." The call made it so Jasper's head was now located a mere few inches from Emmett's behind.

"Rose, hurry up! Emmett's ass is in my face," Jasper pleaded in a strained voice, causing us all to chuckle.

A mischievous look crept on Emmett's face. "Uh oh."

Jasper's eyes fluttered shut. "Do I even want to know?" he groaned.

"I have to fart." Jasper dropped as soon as the words left Emmett's mouth, rolling away and putting as much distance between them as he could. Emmett grinned. "Works every time."

"No kidding. It's a lose-lose situation. If you're serious and we don't drop, we suffocate. If you're kidding and we drop, we lose," Jasper explained.

"You're just jealous," Emmett teased with a wink.

Rose stood and tossed the board at Emmett. "Since you won, you get to be the caller."

"With pleasure, ma chérie," he drawled, placing a loud kiss on her cheek.

Now that I was actually able to play the second time around, I noticed that they liked to play dirty. Jasper went out of his way to put his armpit in Alice's face and she retaliated by biting his arm hard enough to make him drop in pain.

"Is biting allowed?" I whispered to Edward who my face happened to be closest to.

Edward let out a quiet chuckle. "Bella, in case you haven't noticed, everything is allowed."

Alice and Rose had a nice little battle to get each other out which, Alice ended up winning. Then Alice and Edward had a short battle that Edward easily won; all with me deliberately minding my own business and staying as close to the outside as I could. But, I did have to admit, Edward smelled good. Like, mmm-mmm good. He smelt like a hint of Swiss Army mixed with something else that was equally scrumpdillyumcious.

The game dragged, as Edward and I were the only two left. Alice even suggested just calling it a draw because she wanted to watch a movie, but both Edward and I had bluntly refused. Emmett decided to ditch the board and just call what he felt would be the most uncomfortable and awkward positions. I wasn't going to lie… I was sweating. Not just dainty sweat that led to clammy hands. I meant full on, sweat cascading from my hairline.

Attractive, I know.

Edward ended up winning due to his ability to stretch his body longer than I could stretch mine and because of a strategic hip check he performed as my left hand was in the air on its way to a red circle.

I dealt with the outcome of the game maturely as I stuck my tongue out at him as I trekked down the hall to change back into my jeans. I returned to find all the furniture taken but a spot next to Edward on the love seat. I promptly walked past the empty spot and sat down in front of Emmett and Rose, who were sprawled on the couch.

"No need to be a sore loser, Bella," Edward teased.

"No need to be a meanie, Eddie," I retorted with a grin.

Emmett and Japer emitted loud "ohhhhh's" while Alice and Rose snickered behind their hands.

"You, little girl, are playing with fire," Edward warned with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Yet you shall be the one who gets burned," I answered sweetly, resisting the urge to tack on an, _oh snap!_

Edward opened his mouth to respond but Alice whipped a pillow across the room, hitting him in the head and effectively shutting him up. About ten minutes into the movie, my phone vibrated. I wrestled it out of my pocket and flipped it open.

_(1) New Text Message From: Edward Cullen._

I glanced up at Edward. He was watching the movie but he was holding his phone in his hand.

I opened the message.

**Are you really not sitting next to me because I am a meanie :(**

I snorted quietly and shook my head.

**lol nope. I'm scared I will fall asleep if I sit on a comfortable piece of furniture. Plus I really do not mind the floor.**

Edward was a much faster texter than I, so I got a response shortly after.

**:( You don't look happy on the floor. Are you sure you don't want to sit next to me? I promise to be nice…**

I probably looked unhappy because my butt had become numb.

**Thanks Edward but I'm okay :)**

"Are you two texting each other?" Jasper asked, looking between Edward and I.

"Yeah. We're just taunting each other and didn't want to disrupt you guys by speaking aloud," Edward lied smoothly.

"Ohh, call him a cotton ginned ninny wilkins," Emmett whispered to me but it was loud enough for everyone to hear.

**You heard Em you liar.**

**:P do you want company on the floor?**

**Don't worry about it. Stay on the comfy couch.**

**Lemme know if you change your mind**

A little while later Alice left her spot of Jasper's lap on the armchair and plopped down on the floor beside me. "You looked lonely." Jasper made it less than five minutes before he missed the Alice's presence and joined us on the floor. Edward and Rose soon joined us as well while Emmett chucked and mumbled "idiots" as he stretched across the whole couch. Just for that, we made him get up and put the next movie in.

Emmett apparently was not a big fan of Rose's movie choice. He decided that throughout the movie he would amuse himself by poking my sides at random intervals. I had been doing my best not to laugh or squeal or jump but I could only contain myself for so long.

"You are ticklish!" Emmett's hand assaulted my side and I tried to crawl away as my body convulsed with laughter. Thankfully, no one decided to help him…but no one tried to stop him either. He finally relented when I legitimately couldn't breathe anymore and my body turned a deep shade of red. I playfully glared at Emmett and panted as I walked over to the empty loveseat that Edward had previously occupied. My phone vibrated in my pocket.

**Awww look who changed her mind :)**

I looked over and stuck my tongue out at Edward. He just grinned.

We had finished the movie and were just sitting around talking. After my fourth yawn in a matter of five minutes, I decided it was time to call Charlie. I pulled my cell out of my pocket and called home.

"Hello," Charlie's deep voice grunted. Charlie spoke loud on the phone and I had to hold the phone away from my ear.

"Hey, dad." Emmett's ears perked. Well, not literally, but you get it. He scrambled up from the couch and traipsed his way over to where I sat.

"Hey, Bells. I'm assuming you're calling for a ride," Charlie stated, his voice reaching everyone in the room.

Emmett snatched my phone from my hand before I could answer. "Picking Bella up will not be necessary as she will receive transportation home in the form of Jasper's soccer mom van," Emmett informed Charlie. I tried to reach for my phone but Emmett smacked my hand away, hard enough that the sound resonated around the room and a flash of panic graced his face. He lifted his free hand to my phone coving it as if it would help stop the sound from working its way through the phone and to Charlie's ear buds. However, Charlie seemed oblivious to any sound he may have heard as he agreed and told Emmett to tell Jasper to drive safely before hanging up.

"I will assume that is our cue to leave," Jasper said, groaning as he stood up and stretched his long legs.

We shuffled our way to the door, saying our goodbyes and goodnights to Edward before the five of us climbed into the van. Rose was dropped off first and then me. Jasper idled at the curb as I stumbled to the front door. I waved – or at least I think I waved – before I shut the door behind me. I was so tired I could barely hold myself up and fell asleep minutes after collapsing on my bed.

**~!~DBSYPWTBB~!~**

Early Sunday night Charlie left his spot on the couch to pick up Billy while I worked on dinner. I made some classic fish and chips for Charlie and Billy and some penne for myself. I was in the process of setting the table when the two men entered the front door, laughing heartily about something. My guess was that it was due to one of my dad's horrible jokes that adults seemed to find hilarious.

"Bella, my darling!" Billy cooed as he wheeled himself over to me. "You've grown so much."

Billy looked almost the same as he did when I last saw him. The only differences were now his rich black hair, which was streaked with grey, and the wrinkles on his face, which ran deeper than before.

I grinned. "Hi, Billy."

The two men took their places at the table while I grabbed the food from the kitchen.

"Smells good, Bells," Charlie praised as he rubbed his hands together.

I made a face. "Yeah, but tastes awful," I grunted as I poured my pasta on my plate.

Billy frowned. "You don't like fish, Bella?"

I shook my head. "I don't like seafood."

Billy shrugged and took a bite of the fish. "That's a shame."

Dinner was spent in a comfortable silence with only the sounds of clanking silverware in the air and the occasional satisfied sighs from Charlie and Billy. I was in the kitchen doing the dishes when I heard Billy's tires squeak to a stop behind me. I gave him a grin over my shoulder.

"Charlie tells me you're showing boys how to play football," Billy teased with a grin. "We'll have to come watch your next game."

_We?

* * *

_

**SNEAK PEEK – Chapter Seven**

"You know, Bella, it's tradition for the birthday girl to get thrown into the lake."

I retracted a few steps. "Emmett, no. The lake is cold."

Emmett caught me around the waist and picked me up. "You can't break tradition, Bella."


	7. Blast From the Past

**Dear Bella Swan, you're Playing with the Big Boys**

**Disclaimer-I don't own Twilight**

**Thanks for all of your reviews and support!**

**This chapter has been edited by ****Edwardsfavoritebrunette and My-Heart-Of-Music**.

Chapter 7: Blast from the Past

_"Charlie tells me you're showing boys how to play football," Billy teased with a grin. "We'll have to come watch your next game."_

_We?_

Charlie joined us in the kitchen and I voiced my thoughts. "We?" I asked.

Billy chuckled. "I forgot it's been quite a while since you've last been to Forks. Sue and I would be the 'we' you inquired about."

"Sue as in Sue Clearwater?" I clarified.

Billy grinned. "The one and only."

"Then wouldn't Harry be going, too?"

I remembered Sue and Harry Clearwater from all the times I visited La Push with Charlie while I was in town. Sue made - without a doubt - the best cookies of life. Actually, anything cooking or baking related fell right in Sue's forte. She was a kind-hearted woman with more patience than I ever imagined a person could have.

Harry was like Peter Pan in my eyes. He was one of the biggest little kids in terms of getting himself into mischief and having the ability to make anything fun. I remember the countless times he had convinced me to play games with him, ranging from hide and go seek to knicky knicky nine doors to playing pirates on the beach. We - and by we I mean Harry – was given Sue's 'look' numerous times when we would be out playing for far too long or when we would trudge through the house with our dirty shoes on.

Charlie and Billy glanced at each other, frowning. I panicked, going over my previous words in my head, trying to see if I said something wrong.

Billy cleared his throat. "Harry died of a heart attack a few years back, Bella."

I felt my eyes do wide and my mouth popped open. The dish I had been drying slipped out of my hands and thankfully landed back into the water filled sink instead of crashing to the floor.

"Oh," I said stupidly, my mind unable to come up with anything more appropriate to say.

Billy shifted uncomfortably in his wheelchair. "Sue and I have been spending a lot of time together lately and…yeah."

I could figure out what that meant on my own.

**~!~DBSYPWTBB~!~**

Billy stayed true to his word. He and Sue, along with Charlie, who managed to get off of work again, were at the game on Friday. Luckily, we won, improving our record to 3-0. Our perfect record didn't last long as we tied the next game and then lost the week after that. After a week of grueling practices, and copious amounts of yelling that accompanied all the spit flying, we were able to pull away with a nail-biting win of 23-21.

Over that month, Emmett, Rose, Alice, Edward, Jasper and I had basically become inseparable. We always hung out on weekends and usually managed to get together once or twice during the week. Most of the time we were all able to make it, but there was always the variables of homework and work for those who had jobs. Emmett and Jasper both worked at the lone grocery store in town and Rose worked at a little local café.

School seemed to fly by even though it was a continuous cycle of class, homework, study, test then repeat. Mike was still his arrogant, creepy, perverted little self, my locker still hated me, gym was always full of little surprises, and as of two days ago, the dance committee had enthusiastically posted flyers all over the school for a dance that had some kind of theme. I didn't care enough to remember.

"Finally Friday," Emmett sighed as we all sat at lunch. "Any big plans for the weekend?"

I narrowed my eyes and shot him a look. "You know damn well. Don't think I haven't noticed all of you acting weird and being secretive all week."

Everyone just looked at me with innocent faces and angelic smiles.

"Wow, you all officially suck," I muttered, turning my attention to the cold cut turkey sandwich with lettuce and mustard I had hastily made myself this morning.

The rest of lunch passed in the same way: cryptic comments, knowing looks, and feigned innocence.

Edward and I threw out our garbage on the way out of the cafeteria. I was happy it was Edward who I shared a class with next; he was currently the least infuriating out of the five. He had stuck with just smirks and smiles throughout lunch while everyone else provided the unnecessary teasing.

We got to my locker and I shut my eyes in a silent prayer as I attempted to open it. Apparently the big man upstairs was on a lunch break of his own. I sighed and tried again to no avail. Edward chuckled and started reaching his hand towards my locker. I slapped his hand away and shot him a look. He held up his hands and took an exaggerated step back.

"You should really just move into another locker," Edward stated as he watched me struggle, his shoulders shaking in a silent chuckle.

"Won't I get in trouble for that, though?"

"Sometimes you just gotta live dangerously, Bella," Edward answered with a teasing smirk.

I was finally able to rip my locker open, stumbling back a few steps in the process. I held back the urge to dance in triumph. "Are you encouraging me to run with scissors too?" I asked innocently. "Maybe try my hand at taming lions? Or maybe you're telling me to be that bridge-jumping friend parents everywhere warn their children about?"

Edward shook his head, his hair catching in the light, revealing the coppery strands hidden among the brown. "Just grab your books."

I smirked. Bella: 1 Edward: 0. Actually, better not keep count. No doubt Edward would be able to rack up points easier than it would be for him to blink.

My hands were just about to find purchase on my books when a slight rustling sound made me freeze. My eyes slowly drifted to the bottom of my locker. Huddled in the corner as if it would hide him – I assumed it was a he - was a mouse at least the length of my hand, tail included. Beady, black eyes locked with mine and his whiskers never stopped twitching. I didn't realize I had retracted until I bumped into Edward's chest.

"What -" Edward began and followed the path of my eyes. He shrieked – yes, you heard me correctly – before a string of curses left his mouth.

The mouse bolted and I could hear Steve Irwin's voice in my head. _Crikey! What we've got here is terrified little mouse. Notice how it's running all over the place. It doesn't know where is safe because of all of the big, unknown, moving objects in the hallway._

An audience had gathered around to watch the chaos, and people were screaming as the mouse raced around the hall. It finally snuck under a closed door and I let out a shuddering breath. I became aware that my hand was grasping Edward's forearm tightly. I released it quickly, as if it were burning my hand. We both looked down and watched as the white imprint of my hand slowly morphed back into the color of his skin.

"Edward?" I asked in a small voice, my heart beat pounding distinctively in my ears.

He took a deep breath. "Yeah."

"Want to grab my books for me?" I asked innocently. No way did I want to go near my locker at the moment.

Edward shot me a pained look, shifting his weight awkwardly from foot to foot as his gaze flickered from my locker to the spot where the mouse performed its disappearing act. Edward looked up to the heavens and mumbled something under his breath that I couldn't quite catch. He quickly grabbed my books and shut my locker for me. He handed my books over to me along with three simple words. "You owe me."

I raised my hands in defense. "Hey, it made sense. You're the boy here after all."

"And I have a phobia of mice," Edward said over his shoulder as he began walking down the halls to his locker. I knew he wasn't really upset when he looked back to make sure I was coming and slowed down a bit so I could catch up.

"Oh? Care to share?" I asked as I caught up with him about five steps later.

Edward narrowed his eyes and peered down at me, a faint hint of a smirk present. "Third grade field trip to the zoo. Use your imagination."

I had probably come up with fifteen different scenarios by the time we reached his locker, each one more unlikely than the last. We snuck into math just seconds after the bell rang and were met with an eyebrow raise from Mr. Wilson.

"She had a mouse in her locker," Edward explained, pointing at me with his thumb.

"What hallway is your locker in?" Mr. Wilson asked, appearing to take it as an acceptable excuse.

"Um, the tech and auto hall," I answered.

He grimaced. "Move lockers. Those ones suck."

No kidding. The hallway my locker was in was, hands down, the crappiest hallway in the entire school.

"Told you," Edward murmured as we walked to our seats. I chose to ignore him.

Mr. Wilson seemed to be in a good mood. He sat facing the class, his feet resting on the chair that belonged to the desk he was sitting atop of. He held an over-used textbook in his hand, but shut it and tossed it on the desk beside him.

"Before we start, I have a little life lesson to share with you all. There comes a time when your life changes direction. Not really up or down, more like left or right." He shifted how he sat, leaning forward with his elbows propped on his knees.

"You think your night is going to go one way but it goes the complete opposite direction. So, when your fiancée brings home a DVD you think, 'okay, let's make a night out of this'. You order some nice Italian food and have a lovely dinner before popping in the movie."

Everyone was sharing glances with each other, wondering where this was going.

"And all of a sudden there are shirtless teenage boys…werewolves… dog like things, whatever they are, that explode in midair, causing their clothing to rip and rendering it useless for future use."

Everyone in the class burst out laughing, knowing exactly what movie he was talking about.

"I mean, c'mon. Is having no shirt on really necessary? I would get the no shirt thing if they didn't have shoes on either, but they have shoes! Shoes are more expensive than shirts, so that just takes out the theory of wanting to limit clothing to save money."

Jessica raised her hand. "Sir, I'm pretty sure they messed up on that. I think in the book they were barefoot."

We didn't end up touching our books for the whole period as this sparked a whole class debate with most of the girls explaining how the movie messed things up, and Mr. Wilson, along with the few boys in the class who had been dragged to see it, throwing in their opinions.

"Then after you have been staring at these buff werewolves for an hour and a half, they force misery upon you in the form of a pasty as heck brooding, suicidal, glittering vampire who has something wrong with his nipples."

Mr. Wilson's comment was ill-timed – or well timed, depending how you look at it – as Edward snorted, the water he had just taken a sip of threatening to expel through his nose. I patted his back as he coughed a few times.

Mr. Wilson continued. "The acting is just terrible. Atrocious, even. Like, please explain why she looks like she wants to make-out with whoever she's doing a scene with?"

I silently agreed. For some reason I just couldn't stand the actress they chose for the main character. I think it was that she just didn't seem to radiate the innocence that was needed for the role. Or she was just that terrible at acting. Maybe both.

"Oh, and what is with the unnecessary removal of clothing? Oh, you're bleeding. Here, let me take off my shirt. Oh, I got to go fetch the mail. Let me take my shirt off. Oh, I have to feed the fish. Guess I have to take my shirt off now."

I loved Taylor Lautner but I couldn't help but giggle as Mr. Wilson ranted. Hey, if I was bleeding and he was near me, he could take off as much clothing as he wanted - I wouldn't mind in the slightest.

"The graphics were _terrible_. You think for a movie that they knew would be that popular they would put in some effort and splurge a bit. And then the movie abruptly ends and all you can think about is how you just wasted two hours of your life that you will never get back."

The whole class was either grinning and/or laughing as he finally finished his massive rant about a movie aimed towards teenage girls.

"So, you didn't like it, sir?" one of the girls in my class asked.

"I would rather have sandpaper as eyelids before suffering through that again," he informed us.

"Is it really that bad?" Edward asked me.

I shrugged. "I didn't find it good but I didn't find it completely terrible either, so I guess it depends on the person. I enjoy reading the books but I have found the movies to be a bit of a disappointment so far."

We only had five minutes left in class so Mr. Wilson let us just chill. History was uneventful and I dreaded having to open my locker at the end of the day, fearing another meeting with a furry rodent. My locker ended up being safe from inhabitants but that didn't stop me from jamming my books in my backpack as quickly as I possibly could.

This week was a bye week for us, meaning we had no game. Mr. Wilson had informed us we were going to be in for an intense practice and he didn't disappoint. Intense meant a bunch of running in our heavy, smoldering, sweaty, stinky, disgusting, god-awful equipment. It was not fun in the slightest. I could barely walk when practice was over, so I took a much needed ice bath when I got home. Well, technically a cold water bath, but it served the same purpose.

I was sprawled on my bed reading when Alice texted me and invited me over for a bit. I glanced at the clock before taking in my very comfortable position and my pajama clad figure. I debated my willingness to move and made my decision, flipping my phone open to text back.

**I have to pass :( sorry. I feel incapable of moving and probably won't be up that much longer.**

It didn't take long before I got a response.

**No worries. Em passed 4 the same reasons. I shall c u 2morrow :)**

I read for a little while longer, stopping when I realized I had zoned out and had been staring at the same page for five minutes. I grudgingly got out of bed to change and got ready for bed. I tossed my phone on my dresser before crawling into bed and drowning myself with my covers. I glanced at my clock and couldn't help the muffled chuckle that emerged because really, how often does a teen willingly go to bed before 10:30 on a Friday night?

I was jolted from sleep when I heard the startling drone of my phone vibrating loudly on my wooden dresser. I took a few seconds to grumble out loud before I tossed off my covers and left my warm haven. As much as I wanted ignore my phone and stay in bed, I knew my curiosity wouldn't let me fall asleep. I barely registered the fact that it was just past midnight as I flipped my phone open, seeing I had one new text from Edward.

**Sorry if you were sleeping but I just wanted to wish you happy birthday :)**

I could feel a small smile form on my lips.

**T'is all good. Thanks and shhhh sleepy time now.**

I put my phone on my bedside table so I didn't have to get out of bed and put it back on my dresser. It vibrated again and I quickly snatched it, flipping it open.

**lol sorry. Nighty night.**

I was only able to stay awake long enough to form a one word response.

**Night**

**~!~DBSYPWTBB~!~**

I heard whispering before my eyes had the ability to open.

"I've tried texting and calling her cell but she just won't answer." God? Wait, no. It was a female voice talking. Besides, why would God try to call or text me to wake me up instead of just using his Godly powers?

"The smell of bacon didn't even wake her up. I fear she may have died." Charlie? Yes, Charlie. He knew all about my heightened sense of smell when it came to bacon and other delicious breakfast foods.

"Should we go in there?" It was the first voice I heard again. I knew it from somewhere; it was so familiar. It finally clicked, and oh wow was I an idiot. The female voice belonged to Rose.

"I don't know… how much to you girls value your lives?"

I chuckled into my pillow. Waking me up was basically like waking up a bear during hibernation - a lot of work and the result wasn't pretty. It was safe to say I was not a morning person.

"Ehhh, not that much," Alice's voice chirped.

The bed dipped as Alice pounced on the bed. I cracked one eye open but immediately shut it when I was blinded by whatever ray of sunshine coming out of Alice's ass made her so… perky in the morning.

"Happy Birthday!"

Both my eyes snapped open. It was my birthday. Today was my day of birth. I was eighteen. My, how I can drop 70 I.Q. points in the morning.

"Do you feel older?"

"That is honestly the stupidest question anyone could ever ask, no offence. How is someone supposed to feel older over night?" I questioned, glancing over at Alice.

She rolled her eyes. "I know, Bella. That's why I used sarcasm."

"Oh... yeah, it's still too early for my mind to catch on to sarcasm. Sorry."

I shifted so I was now lying on my side, propped up on my elbow so I could somewhat face Alice and Rose. I felt a sense of déjà vu wash over me.

"This situation seems strangely familiar," I voiced, supplying Alice and Rose with a nice piece of useless information because I didn't have a filter for my mouth yet.

"How so?" Rose asked, entering my room and situating herself at the foot of my bed.

"The night we went shopping and you guys woke me up from a nap. Alice was the one to get all nice and cozy with me while you stood in the door and let her do all the dirty work." I grinned and stuck my tongue out at Rose who responded by placing a well-placed punch to my already tender thigh.

"What are we doing today?" I asked, rubbing my abused thigh.

"I'll tell you when you get out of bed," Rose countered, biting back a smile.

I fell back into the pillows. "I don't want to know _that_ badly."

"Bella, get moving. The boys will be here soon and unless you want Emmett barging in your room like the impatient man he is, I suggest you get out of this bed," Rose told me, placing her hands on her hips.

"Don't care," I muttered into my pillow, pulling my covers over my head. Get out of the land of warmth and comfort, not to mention the welcoming softness of my sheets? No thanks. I'll pass.

Alice yanked the covers from my head, letting them pool around my shoulders. "Bella," she growled.

I responded with a growl of my own and I could hear the distinct sound of someone texting.

"It's my birthday. Isn't there some unwritten rule that applies here?" I questioned.

"Not at all. Remind me why I'm friends with you?" Alice asked.

"'Cause I'm awesome," I answered with a grin.

I could barely hear the muffled sound of my phone vibrating under the pillow I wasn't using. I must have forgotten to put it on the table beside my bed after texting Edward; it would explain why I didn't wake up to Rose's call or text. By the time I found my phone I had three new messages.

The first one was the one Rose had sent this morning.

**Wake Up!**

The other ones were both from Emmett. The first text from Emmett was sent just a few minutes after Rose's.

**Wakey Wakey Eggs and Bakey!**

The second one was the most recent one.

**We men are ready and WILL come over there early if necessary.**

I glanced at Rose. I figured she must have texted Emmett, explaining the situation to him. She just gave me an innocent shrug and asked who texted me. I read Emmett's text aloud before typing my response.

**Do whatever you wish.**

**That bed better be comfy. I may just have to test it out for myself…**

I grinned at Emmett's "threat" before responding.

**Sounds good. I'll make sure there's room.**

It took longer to get a response this time and I noticed Rose received and sent a text before my phone vibrated.

**We'll be over in 5.**

I doubted he was serious.

I glanced at Rose and Alice. "You might want to get cozy."

They shared a look before lying on the bed beside me, snuggling into my side. We remained quiet for a few minutes, waiting on my bed with our eyes – well, at least my eyes – resting shut.

"This is actually pretty cozy," Alice mumbled, sounding tired.

I grinned. Despite having three of us squished together on my twin sized bed it was a surprisingly comfortable situation. They were like two cats snuggled into my side.

From my room we could hear the faint sound of car doors. My eyes fluttered open and I glanced in the direction of my window.

"I thought he was kidding."

Rose got up and walked to the window to check and make sure it really was the boys, nodding in confirmation. We could hear a solid knock on the front door along with the squeaking of the old hinges as it opened.

"Chief Swan, may we enter your daughter's room?" Emmett's voice floated up the stairs.

"Proceed, boys."

Alice got up and left my room, no doubt to guide the boys. The stairs creaked and protested as they were trampled by multiple sets of feet.

The first thing I noticed when everyone filed into my room was that Emmett was wearing a party hat. Not just any party hat, though. It was a bright pink Barbie party hat tilted to the left. Apparently Emmett was quite the BAMF.

"Wha-" I stopped myself mid-word. "Actually, never mind. I don't want to know."

Edward crossed the room and sat down straddling my computer chair while Jasper and Emmett stood beside Rose and Alice at the foot of my bed.

I was thankful my room was clean to begin with - it suddenly felt cluttered with six people squeezed in it. I just became aware of the fact that I had yet to look in a mirror this morning… or brush my teeth for that matter.

Jasper made a move to rip the comforter off the bed but Alice stopped him right just as his hands gripped the fabric.

"Wait! Bella, please tell me you aren't just wearing underwear."

I chuckled and grabbed onto the covers tightly since I now knew Jasper's intention. "Depends on how you look at it."

Alice grimaced. "Elaborate, please."

"I'm wearing boxers over my underwear so in a sense I am technically just wearing underwear."

Jasper frowned as he took in my death grip I had on my bedding, deciding it wasn't worth it to try to wrestle it out of my grasp even though there was no doubt he would end up winning in the end.

"You know, there wouldn't be this problem if this wasn't occurring so early," I told them.

"It's only early to you, Bella," Rose grumbled.

Emmett's face scrunched in thought. I wanted to tell him not to hurt himself but decided against using my snarky-ness.

"Alright, desperate times call for desperate measures here."

We all watched as Emmett did an elaborate ten second stretching routine before flinging himself on my bed, situating himself on top of my covers. He took my face in his hands, forcing me to look into his clear and vibrant blue eyes.

"Bella," Emmett began, his voice deep. "I will make you wear the Barbie hat."

"Are you serious?" I asked since there was no hint of a smile on his face or teasing in his voice.

"Completely. Get out of bed or you will wear the hat."

I raised my eyebrows. "And what if I stay in bed and don't wear the hat?"

Emmett chuckled. "Trust me. If that's your choice, you'll be wearing the hat."

The sad part was I knew Emmett would be able to make good on that. I glanced around the room.

"Fine, I'll get up," I surrendered.

Emmett raised his fists in triumph and everyone let out sighs of relief.

"Those are only words, Bella. I'm going to need to see some action here."

I sat up and motivated myself enough to kick off my covers as best I could with Emmett lying on them, exposing the boxers that served as my pajamas bottoms in the process.

"Loony Tunes!" Edward exclaimed, his eyes sparkling as he spoke up for the first time of the day.

"And awesome," I added.

I stood next to my bed and cast a look around the room. Rose and Alice were already standing by the door but it took longer for the guys to take the hint.

"Oh, right! We should leave now," Jasper said, verbalizing his _ah-ha_ moment.

"Bella, take the time to shower," Rose hollered over her shoulder as everyone filtered out of my room.

I raised my arm the slightest amount to smell myself. It wasn't that bad, but considering I would probably be kidnapped for the whole day, I decided it was in my best interest to take Rose's advice. I took a quick shower and changed even faster, now feeling bad at how difficult I was being and how long I had made them wait so far. I tossed my still damp hair up in a messy bun, exiting my room to skip down the stairs two at a time, zipping up my sweater along the way. I threw myself onto the couch next to Jasper and plastered an eager smile on my face.

"I would like to start off by informing you I self-appointed myself in charge of the cake but I decided to make cupcakes because they are just so much better," Emmett notified me, gesturing to the Tupperware container resting on the well-worn coffee table in front of me.

"You made cupcakes?" Yeah, I knew I sounded apprehensive. Sue me.

"Well, my grandma did. I was just in the kitchen for moral support."

Jasper leaned over to whisper in my ear. "In other words, eat the batter when she isn't looking."

I snickered. I figured as much.

Rose was shaking her head. "Typical boy," she muttered.

"Hey, I ain't no Betty Cougar here!" Emmett tried to defend himself, crossing his arms across his chest.

Alice frowned. "Uh, don't you mean Betty Crocker?"

He scrunched up his eyes in thought before shrugging. "Sure."

Emmett seemed very eager as he thrust a white gift bag at me with a hand-drawn black question mark. Can anyone say mysterious? The first thing I pulled out of Emmett's mystery-bag-of-surprises was a small foil packet. I think I flung it halfway across the room after I finally comprehended what I had been holding in my hand. I wiped my hands repeatedly on my denim clad thighs and looked at Emmett with confused, wide eyes.

"It's a cootie catcher," he explained simply, giving me the most innocent grin imaginable.

My goodness. I never wanted to learn how Emmett's mind worked.

I tentatively put my hand back in the bag and pulled out the rest of the items. There were a few scratch card tickets, a get-out-of-jail-free card from monopoly, sparklers and a green bingo dabber. I thanked Emmett and stood up so I could lean over the coffee table to give him a hug. My stomach decided to be social and I could feel my cheeks warm. Jasper chuckled, declaring we should eat before we continued.

"Don't worry, Bella. The worst is out of the way," Edward told me as we made our way towards the kitchen.

"Yeah," Emmett agreed, taking him a few seconds for Edward's words to register with him. "Hey!"

I grinned. The day had just begun.

**~!~DBSYPWTBB~!~**

"There are a lot of people here," I stated, looking at large group of people already collected on the beach. The first half of the day had just been hanging out at my house with Alice, Rose, Edward, Jasper, and Emmett. The second half of the day was just beginning. We were on First Beach at La Push where we were going to have a bonfire when it became dark enough.

"Forks is boring, Bella. You take any opportunity to get out of the house," Edward enlightened me as the group of us made our way to a picnic table where Angela and Ben were seated. The boys left to go do whatever manly stuff there was to do, and Angela produced a deck of cards from her purse. There was an occasional breeze that was strong enough to shake the branches on the nearby trees, but we managed to keep the cards from blowing away.

Rose, Alice, and Angela taught me how to play President, and well… let's not discuss how it went, shall we? They ended up taking pity on me and teaching me how to play Jamaican War, which I quickly learned was the best card game ever invented. The mixture of violence and intensity really got the adrenaline going. Angela claimed I had sneaky, ninja hands and eagle eyes seeing as I always seemed to spot and slap the doubles before anyone else.

The sun started dropping and the 'men' decided it was a good time to start the fire, standing around and admiring it once they got it lit. It must have been the cavemen embedded in them. They returned to the picnic table just as Alice was about to deal our third round of Jamaican War. Rose grabbed a pack of cards from her purse so we could mix her and Angela's decks together so we would have enough cards for everyone.

The wind had picked up but our tightly huddled bodies around the table acted as a barrier to the elements. The game started off with a high intensity, all of us on high alert and a few of us suffering from Alice's crazy bird talon fingernails that left marks on the hands of whoever wasn't quick enough to retract them quick enough from the pile. People ran out of cards one by one, and there was trash-talking going around all around the table. Attempts to slap back into the game were diminished as Emmett and I were always the quickest ones to slap the doubles and eventually we were the final two left. Emmett had a bit more cards than I did, but I had more face cards than him. I slowly upped the number of cards in my hands as Emmett lost hand by hand. It was a battle of David and Goliath and of course, David came out victorious. My victory was met by a stunned silence closely followed by joyful laughter. Emmett's eyes were as wide as they could possibly go and I feared he was in shock.

Jasper got up from the table and pumped his fists in the air. He walked over to where I sat and planted a loud kiss on my cheek. "Em hasn't lost a game since," Jasper face contorted as he tried to think. "Well… ever."

Emmett seemed to have recovered from his surprise, his eyes never leaving mine as he started cracking his knuckles. "That's right, and I'm a sore loser."

Edward, who was sitting beside me, leaned over. "Now would be a good time to run."

I didn't waste time once I saw Emmett starting to get up. I shot up from the table and ran down the beach, not exactly sure where I was running other than away.

In retrospect, running was probably the stupidest thing I could have done. I should have stayed with the group and used them as a shield of sorts. It was just like a horror movie. The smaller group or the person on their own was the most vulnerable and got attacked first. Moving away from the bigger group was a big no-no. It didn't help that I was attempting to run away in flip-flops and jeans, not to mention running on a beach was much harder than running on grass or pavement. All that basically summed up to was that it didn't take long before Emmett caught up to me. He stopped in front of me, forcing me to halt unless I literally wanted to run into him. I was out of breath and decided trying to run again would probably be useless.

"You know, Bella, it's tradition for the birthday girl to get thrown into the lake."

I retracted a few steps. "Emmett, no. The lake is cold."

Emmett caught me around the waist and picked me up. "You can't break tradition, Bella."

"Yes! Yes, you can!" I started struggling in his arms in a vain attempt to escape from his hold. Emmett simply tossed me over his shoulder and tightened his grip on me, his shoulder digging harshly into my stomach with every step he took. Emmett's bare feet disappeared as he took his first steps into the lake.

"Hmm, it _is_ quite nippy," he mused aloud, slowly shifting his hold on me.

"Emmett, I beg you. Please don't."

Instead of struggling and flailing, I was now clutching onto as much of Emmett as I could with my slightly numb fingers.

"Give me three valid reason and I'll think about it."

"I have my phone in my pocket, the water is cold, and…ummmm…ugh…crap."

Evidently I was not a quick thinker. I couldn't help the shriek that flew from my lips as Emmett pulled me off his shoulder and cradled in his arms. He looked down and gave me an impish grin before slowly loosening his hold.

"Em, she has no clothes to change into. It's chilly and windy so if she gets wet she'll get hypothermia and die." Edward's voice floated to us over the sound of the raging wind and crashing waves.

A tad melodramatic in my opinion, but I couldn't complain because Emmett let out a reluctant sigh and walked out of the lapping waves and onto the sand. He put me down, butt first and shoving me a bit to ensure I got a healthy dose of sand down my pants. He muttered something to Edward about ruining all his fun before giving me the standard 'I'm watching you' gesture and marching away.

"Seeing as I rescued you, do you think I would be able to steal you for a few minutes?" Edward turned to ask me, removing his eyes from Emmett's retreating form.

"I believe that can be arranged, good sir," I chuckled, standing up and jumping a few times in attempt to get out as much sand as possible.

Edward grimaced - in what I would like to believe was sympathy – before taking a few steps towards the nearby forest, turning to make sure I was following. I stayed a few steps behind, letting him lead us into the outskirts of the dark forest. Edward stopped walking and there was just enough light that made its way through the trees for me to see the outline of his features.

"Can I ask you something?"

I took a deep lungful of the night air and willed myself to calm down.

"Of course."

"Promise you won't get mad at me for asking?"

I didn't like how he sounded so fearful. For the most part Edward and I never really had a problem talking to one another. I was thankful for the darkness that masked the anxiety I was feeling. "Edward, just ask."

He ran a hand through his hair and let out a nervous chuckle. "I really don't want to push you or anything, but, uh, I was just wondering if I'm pretty close to being forgiven or if I'm still on your shit list?"

I took me a few long moments to realize what he was asking. I tried to catch Edward's eye but he wouldn't look up from the ground.

"I have."

He raised his head, his eyes quickly flickering across my face. "What?"

"I've forgiven you," I explained quietly, wringing my hands.

"Oh, um, when?" Edward went back to looking at the ground.

I shrugged, even though I didn't think he could see it. "A while ago."

He raised his head but it was to glance around the forest instead of to look at me. "Oh, um, wow. You just never said anything…" he muttered, his voice slowly trailing off.

I took in a breath, embarrassed by my idiocy. "Sorry, I thought it was kind of obvious."

We were both silent. I guessed Edward was trying to sort through and figure out what to do with this new information and I was just mentally kicking myself for assuming Edward would just know he was forgiven.

I was the one to break the silence. "Edward, I completely forgive you." There. I finally said it.

I could see him grin, his perfect, white teeth gleaming in the darkness. His head turned toward me and I hoped he could see my smile I gave him in return. I took a step forward, tripping over who-knows-what and probably would have fallen if not for Edward's strong hand that managed to grip my forearm in the dark. Once I righted myself and felt the oh-so-familiar burning sensation in my face, I wrapped my arms around Edward. His strong arms returned the hug, squeezing me tight for a few long seconds.

"Thank you." Had the wind been any stronger, I probably wouldn't have heard him. He released me and turned to face the direction we came from. "Shall we return to the fiesta?"

"Fiesta?" I questioned, stepping along beside him.

I was sure that Edward rolled his eyes. "Let's just head back."

We stepped out past the tree line and got assaulted by a cold gust of wind hitting us straight on. I stepped behind Edward and hid my face between his shoulder blades, using him to block the wind. We walked like that all the way to the bonfire, where I saw a bright flash through my squinted eyes. I looked up to see Rose grinning, holding her camera. Earlier, Rose deemed herself the photographer for the day and she was clearly continuing the role into the evening. She had pushed the poor silver button on her bright red digital camera so much that almost all of her memory card was most likely filled with pictures just from today.

We took our seats in the sand with me on the end. My side was plastered to Edward's, greedily accepting the warmth of his body as we sat close to the fire to try to warm our numb phalanges. As the firelight flickered in the night, I managed to catch an interesting sight. Mike, Jessica, Tyler and Lauren were all sitting next to each other on the sand. Mike's arm was wrapped around Jessica's shoulders and Tyler's arm was wrapped around Lauren's waist. However, what made this so interesting was the fact that Jessica and Tyler's hands were linked together in the sand behind Mike.

I nudged Edward and gestured in their direction. His eyebrows rose and we shared a look that translated to _well, isn't that interesting?_

"Bella," I heard a familiar voice holler.

Standing ten feet away, holding a bright pink wrapped present was someone I did not expect to see. His long black hair had been cropped short and he had gained a lot weight since the last time I saw him that I instantly know was all muscle. His pearly whites were on display as he gave me an ear-to-ear grin. His expressive brown eyes were shining in amusement as he took in my shocked expression. He chuckled as he lifted one of his crafty hands and motioned me over with just his index finger. I recovered from my shock and excused myself as I stood up and made my way over to Jacob Black.

* * *

**SNEAK PEEK- Chapter Eight**

"**It hurts."**

"**I know, sweetie. I know. You're okay. You're going to be fine."**


	8. Kisses

**Dear Bella Swan, you're Playing with the Big Boys**

**Disclaimer-I don't own Twilight**

**Thank you for all your reviews and support! Not to mention patience… :) I really do love you guys!**

**This chapter has been edited by Edwardsfavoritebrunette and My-Heart-Of-Music.**

Chapter 8: Kisses

I placed my hands on my hips as I craned my head up so I could glare into the rich brown eyes that were currently sparkling.

"You did this on purpose," I accused, gesturing towards the object wrapped in the offending pink paper. The wrapping paper looked as though a pink highlighter had tried to color on some dried Pepto-Bismol.

"I haven't the slightest idea what you could possibly be talking about," Jacob replied innocently, dramatically batting his eyelashes.

I jokingly punched him in the stomach and immediately regretted my decision. Hello, abs of steel that just broke fourteen phalanges… and possibly even five metacarpals, eight carpals, and probably my radius, ulna, and humerus as well. Well not really, but even without seeing him with his shirt off, I knew Jacob Black was a ripped lad.

Jake laughed loudly at the pain etched on my face. "C'mon, I wasn't even flexing!"

I chose to ignore his statement. "I still hate pink, you know," I informed him, rubbing my sore knuckles.

Jake rolled his eyes. "Still the same old Bella, I see," he responded with a grin, passing me the present.

I grinned and tore at the paper. "You know it."

"Does that mean you're going to propose to me again?"

I halted the unwrapping process and felt my eyes widen. I tore my eyes from my half unwrapped present and lifted them to look at a mirthful Jake.

"I was seven," I replied, defending myself.

"So?" he shrugged. "The point still stands."

I narrowed my eyes. The event Jake spoke of happened during one of the summers I was in Forks. I was seven, almost eight, making Jake fourteen at the time. That summer I spent more time in La Push than in Forks, giving me plenty of time to develop a little bit of an infatuation with Jacob Black. Okay, I admit, it was a bit more of an infatuation. Hey, he paid attention to me despite the major age difference and played games with me while Billy and Charlie were out fishing or something – this kind of attention practically constituted marriage to my seven-year-old self.

By only the third week of the summer, I had the idea in my head that we would get married, ride off into the sunset on a white unicorn named Francis and live happily ever after. Yeah, it would be safe to say I made him play house a few times.

On the last day of summer, he still hadn't proposed to me. I assumed he was just being shy with his love towards me, so I decided to go on one knee and propose to him with the ring pop he had just bought me from the corner store.

I had eventually forgiven Jacob Black for breaking my little seven-year-old heart, but he would never let me forget my childish persistence.

Now, I looked at his hulking adult form… such a drastic change from when I last saw him.

"That was a cheap shot," I accused, ripping off the last of the paper and lifting the lid off the decent sized box that was previously hidden by the swarm of pink. Inside was a book of sorts that had a swan and a wolf on the front, along with the words, **Best Times Ever**_._ It took me a minute to realize I was holding a scrapbook.

I opened it, flipping through the numerous pages that held images of my summers spent in Forks and my time in La Push. There were pictures ranging from my one failed attempt at fishing with Charlie, the Kodak moment being when I was mid-shriek while Charlie tried to get me to touch the fish caught on the line, to moments of mine and Jake's silliness, most of which showed my liking of Jake via the creepy staring that occurred in more pictures than I wanted to admit.

I looked up to find Jake eagerly awaiting my reaction. I narrowed my eyes. "What, no bouncy castle?"

Jake rolled his eyes. "That's coming later."

I cracked a smile at our ability to effortlessly tease after all these years. "You scrapbook?" I asked seriously, looking down at the crafted book in my hands.

"What has the world come to? Not believing a man with talented hands can scrapbook something amazing," he muttered. "Yes, I scrapbook."

I felt a huge grin form as I pictured Jake cutting pictures with those funky design-edged scissors and taking great care in planning out how each page would look. I closed the scrapbook and put it back in the box. "Thank you, I love it."

"Alright, now that the teasing is done I want a proper greeting," Jake told me, holding his arms wide open. I closed the distance between us and he picked me up - my feet dangling above the chilled sand - in a big hug that was amazingly gentle for his physique. I was the one to pull back first, but when I glanced into the handsome face I hadn't seen in years, I couldn't help but throw my arms around his neck once more. Jake raised one of his hands from my back to cradle my head to his chest. "I missed you, too, Bella." He punctuated his point with a kiss to my temple.

"Where's Seth?" I asked once we had removed ourselves from our embrace. Even though my hair was up in a bun, pieces of my too-long-and-in-desperate-need-of-a-trim side bangs caught in the wind and flew in my face, causing me brush my hair back in annoyance.

Jake was only nineteen when he became the father of a beautiful baby boy. The first and last time I had met Seth was right after he was born at the end of the summer when I was twelve. I had overheard Jake elegantly telling someone it had been a whirlwind of events: drunken sex with an acquaintance, a phone call two months later informing him she was pregnant, and then _boom,_ baby.

Later on, I learned that Jake had not only stayed with Leah during her pregnancy, but he also tried to do the right thing by asking her to marry him when the bun had been baking in the oven for eight months. She accepted but only a few short months after Seth was born, she walked out on the two of them during the middle of the night, leaving her engagement ring and a letter on the kitchen counter. Despite being a single father at a young age, Jake finished college and got a job as a mechanic with a part time job working with the wolves at the zoo in Seattle.

"He's asleep at my dad's house."

"And I'm going to assume he's still adorable," I joked.

Jacob scoffed as he put his hand in his back pocket. "Of course! I am his father after all." He pulled out his wallet and flipped it open before handing it to me. I couldn't stop the smile that formed on my face when I looked at the picture inside. Seth was clearly Jake's son, inheriting his boyish grin and expressive, brown, almond-shaped eyes. The picture was of Seth on First Beach, sitting on one of the many pieces of driftwood along the shore. His smile was so big I could see he had two teeth missing, one of them being a front tooth.

"Aw, he's adorable! How long are you here for? Do you think I could see him again?"

"Well," Jake began, his eyes twinkling. "How opposed are you to babysitting?"

**~!~DBSYPWTBB~!~**

"I don't care that Spiderman can't fly and needs the help of buildings to aid his transportation. At least he isn't affected by kryptonite!" Jasper argued.

"Oh, please," Emmett scoffed. "That's not even a valid argument. Besides, Superman is strong where Spiderman is scrawny!"

Edward rolled his eyes. "Batman is so much better than both of them put together."

Jacob smirked. "Wonder Woman wins, hands down."

"Boys!" Rose yelled as Edward, Emmett and Jasper all opened their mouths to verbalize their retorts.

I had introduced Jake to Rose, Alice, Emmett, Edward and Jasper, all who welcomed him with open arms. The group of us sat by the fire, varying from talking together in one big group and having an assortment of conversations going at once. The fire was slowly dwindling down and people slowly began leaving in groups, wishing me a happy birthday, once again, as they left.

Right now, all four boys were bickering like old ladies about who was the best super hero. They had all been arguing for a good ten minutes already. Rose, Alice and I had been taking turns playing tick-tack-toe in the sand, trying our best to see in the dim light from the fire, and trying our best to protect our makeshift sand board game from the wind.

"You can all continue this discussion at a later date, time, and possibly location. I'm tired and if you guys keep going then we'll be here all night." Rose let out a yawn, highlighting her point.

Jasper turned to look at me. "What's the birthday girl's opinion?"

"I second what Rose said," I told them with an official raise of my hand.

Alice raised her hand as well. "I third that."

Emmett was the first one to move. "The ladies have spoken."

**~!~DBSYPWTBB~!~**

Monday was filled with students buzzing about the dance on Friday, and also about the arrival of a new student. I heard about him all morning but the first time I actually saw him was in Gym. His pale blue eyes were almost covered by washed-out yellow - almost white - hair. I admit, he was easy on the eyes, but he was a major creep.

We were playing volleyball and I got to share the joy of being on his team with Rose. We started off by playing Mike's team who had somehow miraculously been stacked with a bunch of good athletes. Oh, did I mention they were all boys, and that Coach Clapp had picked all the teams so they were "even"? I'd like to call bullshit on that one.

As we played, it didn't escape my notice the new guy could barely take his eyes off Rose. I mean, I understood that - Rose was no doubt gorgeous, but how he looked at her gave me the feeling he would soon start stroking her hair and whispering, "My precious" creepily in her ear. Basically, I got spine chilling, obsessive, possessive vibes from him.

After we lost, we got off the court and Rose and I sat on the bleachers as we waited for our next game. I let out a silent groan when I realized we had a little puppy dog following us. He waited about a whole 0.3 seconds after we sat down to saddle up next to Rose, pushing his side flush with hers.

"Royce King the Second, and charmer of the century at your service madam," he drawled, lifting Rose's hand to his lips to place a lingering kiss there. Rose smiled, oblivious to his evident obsessive fascination with her. I almost vomited.

This pretty much continued for the rest of class, and I was not the only one to see the puppy dog/Gollum antics Royce radiated like a beacon.

"Rose, how's Emmett doing?" Alice asked, her eyes flickering to Royce who had, once again, sat as close to Rose as he could without physically sitting on her. "You know… your boyfriend?"

Rose looked at Alice in confusion, giving her a why-the-hell-are-you-reminding-me-Emmett-is-my-boyfriend-I'm-not-am-idiot look. "He's fine… He's probably falling asleep in class as we speak."

Royce didn't seem to have paid attention to the exchange of words and I was willing to bet a year's worth of allowance he was trying to inconspicuously sniff Rose's hair.

I let out a sigh of relief when class finished and we went to the change room, entering a lovely large Royce-free area. Or so I hoped. My sigh of relief quickly turned into one of frustration as Rose informed Alice and me of our lunchtime addition.

"I invited Royce to sit with us at lunch," Rose said. "He really hasn't made any friends yet."

"Rose," Alice sighed. "Just think of Emmett for a second."

Rose responded by simply rolling her eyes. "I know Royce is a flirt, but he's harmless."

I snorted. Right… _harmless, said the rabbit about the fox._

Jasper wasn't at the table yet when Royce arrived, so Royce sat in the empty seat between Alice and me. He threw his arms casually around us, massaging just below our hairlines with soft caresses from his thumb as he leaned across the table to talk to Rose. I cringed and pulled my head away, feeling the need to use an entire bar of soap on my neck. Alice appeared to be sitting as still as stone, just waiting for the nightmare to end. Jasper approached the table warily, noticing the extra person. He sat down in the empty seat on Alice's other side, throwing a disapproving stare at Royce for touching what wasn't his. By the time Royce actually looked at everyone else, he was met by three murderous glares. I actually flinched a bit when I took in Jasper, Edward, and Emmett's expressions - Emmett's in particular. Royce took the hint for once… leaning away from Rose and removing his arms after one final caress, but remained light-hearted as lunch progressed.

I felt a foot nudge my leg under the table. I looked up to meet Edward's gaze. "Ready?" he asked, nodding his head towards the cafeteria doors. I looked down at my half-eaten sandwich, and decided I really wasn't all the hungry anymore. I nodded and the two of us stood from the table.

Alice and Jasper were already long gone.

"So soon?" Royce asked in almost a whine. I looked over at him and noticed how his elbows rested on the table, his hand only inches away from Rose's.

"She has trouble with her locker," Rose giggled, acting as if she was letting him in on some super secret inside joke that didn't actually exist.

"Ah, well you just have to know how to rub it the right way," Royce commented, his smirk and reply clearly directed towards Rose.

The sound of metal hitting plastic sounded in the air as Emmett threw the spoon he was using for his thermos of noodles onto the table in obvious disgust. He shoved himself away from the table and held his hand out to Rose. She gave him a questioning stare and his eyes pleaded with her to just go with him.

"I'm not done eating yet," Rose said softly, still unaware of everything that had transpired over lunch.

Emmett glared at Royce, his hand curling into a fist as he leaned down to kiss Rose. She gave him a quick peck and pulled away, unaware Emmett had obviously wanted something more… something that would have clearly marked his territory. Royce noticed and gave Emmett a challenging smirk.

A hand grabbing my wrist removed my attention from the scene in front of me. Edward led me through the maze of tables, only releasing my wrist once we were safely in the hall.

"Edward?" I asked, breaking the silence between us.

"Yeah?"

"He's really creepy," I told him, glancing over my shoulder to make sure Royce didn't magically appear behind us.

"I know. Rose usually has the best bullshit radar out of us all, yet it appears to be broken as of late."

I thought back to the genuine smile that graced Rose's face when Royce had kissed her hand during Gym, and how she saw him as nothing more than a harmless flirt. I shook my head at the situation. "I couldn't agree more."

**~!~DBSYPWTBB~!~**

Edward was the first guy out of the locker room after football practice was finished. His eyes widened and he froze mid-step as he saw me casually leaning against the wall. He looked like a kid who got caught being up after his bedtime, reaching into the cookie jar. He could also pass as a lion that got caught by his prey mid-hunt.

I felt a small crease form on my forehead as I took in the sight of Edward holding a set of keys. I knew for a fact Emmett was the one who was driving all of us home from practice.

"Where are you going?" I couldn't help but ask.

"Oh, I drove myself today." He lifted his keys and gave them a little jiggle.

"Oh…well, I'll see you tomorrow then."

I watched his Adams apple bob comically as he swallowed. He stood upright and nodded stiffly. "Tomorrow…right." He raised his hand in a jerky wave and walked away from me at a brisk pace, never looking back.

Awkward.

The awkwardness and strangeness didn't stop at Edward though. The ride home was an interesting experience in itself. Jasper had instructed me to sit in the front seat, leaving me no room for an argument even though Jasper sitting up front when Emmett drove was basically an unwritten rule. Another unwritten rule was that I got dropped off first (that's why Jasper always got the front) so when Emmett bypassed my street and headed in the direction of Jasper's house I could feel my eyebrows pull together.

"Um -" I began twisting in my seat to point to the untraveled street.

"I forgot you were in the car," Emmett said right away, as if he anticipated my observation skills.

"I'm riding shotgun," I said, incredulity laced in my voice.

Emmett mumbled incoherently with some hand gestures and grunts I couldn't understand.

What the heck was wrong with everyone today? I felt as if I fell down the rabbit hole and was living a day in the life of Alice in Wonderland where nothing remotely made any sense. Rose was being, for the lack of a better word, an idiot; Edward drove himself and was acting panicky at the end of the day; Jasper gave me the front seat – though he was such a gentleman, he was very greedy for all the room to extend his long legs, and now Emmett didn't drop me off first despite the fact that Jasper lived closer to him than I did. Hell, Alice and I seemed like the only sane ones at the moment.

After Japer had been dropped off, Emmett started bombarding me with talk about the 80's themed dance that would occur shortly after our football game on Friday. He tried to explain to me all the benefits of attending such a jamboree while I constantly explained how I couldn't dance; nor was I a fan of the 80's. His response was that it was all in the leading, which is the man's job, so I had nothing to worry about… and that the 80's were "the shit". When he dropped me off, he made me promise to keep an open mind and think about it. I rolled my eyes and promised him, crossing my fingers behind my back.

I entered the house to find metallic wrappers littering the floor. Upon closer inspection, I realized they were Hersey's Kisses. Caramel Hersey's Kisses, to be exact. I followed the obvious trail of my very own personal crack into the living room. In the middle of the floor, the chocolate wrapped delights formed a large question mark. A piece of lined paper was located under the cluster that made up the bottom point of the question mark. I took a quick glance around the room before carefully sliding out the lined paper from under its confines. I unfolded it slowly, the crinkling of the paper joining the sound of my pounding heart in the silence filled room. Once I had completely unfolded it, I looked down to see a familiar script scrawled on the paper.

**Now that I've kissed the ground you walk on, will you go to the dance with me?**

Well, I couldn't exactly say no to that. Plus there was even cheesy little yes and no boxes waiting to be check marked. I tried to fight the smile of sheer joy from appearing on my face, but it was a battle I lost quickly. It was so corny but absolutely adorable at the same time.

"So, what do you think?"

I think I screamed bloody murder as I jumped, both feet getting some good airtime. As soon as I landed, I spun my hand wildly in the direction I knew an admittedly handsome, green-eyed gentleman resided. I slapped him hard on the shoulder – I had learned my lesson about trying to punch boys. The smack echoed loudly in the room but the feeling of my heart trying to leap from my chest prevented me from feeling bad.

Edward's green eyes twinkled as he raised his hand to his shoulder, choking on his own laughter.

"I see you… enjoyed partaking in… a B and E… from time to time," I huffed out in multiple breaths.

Edward smirked and let a few sniggers loose. "Bacon and eggs? I love bacon and eggs."

I slapped him again – lighter this time. "Breaking and entering, you nitwit."

Edward tried to sober himself but failed miserably. "I know. I know!"

I sat on the couch as I waited for Edward and his chuckle/giggle-fest to come to an end. It took much longer than I anticipated, but I confess there was some slight amusement simmering under the surface that was inching its way out. Edward finally collapsed beside me with a deep breath.

"Are you waiting for a pen or something?" he asked, gesturing to the note in my hand that was reminiscent of a third grader's love note.

I stuck my tongue out at him as I went to retrieve my backpack I had flung to the floor in the fit of "joy" that was my near death experience that Edward has so kindly provided. I took a pen from my pencil case and scrutinized Edward.

"Before I answer I need to know one little thing: how did you get in here?"

"Charlie. I talked to him on your birthday and he said if he managed to get the afternoon shift then I could go through with this amazing plan of mine." He motioned towards the chocolate littering the floor.

I regarded him for a few more seconds before letting the pen descend on the paper. I checked off one of the boxes and added some words of my own before handing it to Edward without a word. A lopsided grin appeared on his face as he slowly shook his head.

"You're a demanding little one," he commented.

I held out my hand. "Fine. Give me the paper back."

Edward clutched the paper to his chest and screwed his face up in mock horror. "No! You already checked yes! You can't change your answer." Before I could open my mouth to protest, he continued. "And I agree not to scare you anymore. And be super duper nice. And I reluctantly agree not to make you dance to 'horrible' music for the entire evening."

I retracted my hand. "Fine."

"It's pay at the door so you or we can back out if you or we choose," Edward informed me, glancing sideways at me.

"I guess we'll just have wait and see then."

**~!~ DBSYPWTBB~!~**

Friday was our last home game of the regular season, and it was surprisingly the first game we had to play in more than a light rain shower. The rain was currently hammering from the sky in fat drops that crashed against the metal bleachers loudly, along with making the ground a slippery and muddy playground.

I made my first appearance on the field during the second quarter. Tyler had just gotten a lucky touchdown. The opponent - who would have easily tackled him - slipped due to the mud, regardless of the cleats he wore on his feet to prevent such things from occurring. Tyler managed to slip past him to make a break for the end zone.

Edward took a knee on the ground, adding to his already mud stained pants. He easily caught the slippery ball as it was snapped back to him. I kicked the ball and watched as it sailed end over end in the air, over the heads of all the players on the field, and made its way through the posts. What I didn't realize until it was too late - because I had been watching the ball instead of the field – was my imminent doom. A guy in a rain-soaked, mud caked, baby blue jersey was charging towards me. He was the bull and I was the matador's red cape clad in a green jersey. ¡Olé!

I could see the look of helplessness on Edward's face as he tried to push himself up too fast and lost his footing on the slippery earth.

I felt like Harry Potter in the seventh book, marching into the Forbidden Forest and to his death, only I knew I wasn't going to die. It was more that I was relating our situations by accepting our upcoming fates. He knew he was going to die and didn't fight it, and I knew I was going to get hit so I wasn't going to run away from it and try to avoid it – it would probably hurt more if I did. So, for the briefest moment I felt like Harry Potter, only not as heroic… and I was a girl… and I didn't have a scar on my forehead… and before I could think of another point as to why I wasn't like my homeboy Harry, I was airborne.

If you're thinking airborne like, _weeee! I'm flying high in the sky! This is oodles of fun! Let's do it again_, then you are sadly mistaken. I'm talking airborne like, _I SHOULD HAVE HIT THE GROUND BY NOW! WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!_ And with that kind of airborne, you have a great chance of being body slammed by a 250lb teenage brick shit house which results in having your head whack the ground with a deafening thud and squelch from the mud before the rest of your body follows… much like what happened to me. Not to mention, on top of whacking your head painfully on the ground so hard you think you may literally be seeing stars and Tweety bird, you get flattened – not like a pancake, but a crepe since they're thinner – and get head butted since the guy has no control of his body anymore.

I could hear a mixture of cheers and gasps as the clash of equipment and the sound of us – namely me – hitting the ground could be heard over the roaring rain. The guy that tackled me pushed himself off the ground and I could hear the sound of my teammates yelling some explicit word choices at him. I was slower to get up, pushing myself to my knees for a few long seconds. My head was still ringing and rattling inside my helmet when I stood up. I staggered a few steps. I concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other, determined not to show evidence that I hadn't completely shaken off the hit yet.

Emmett caught up to me and gave me a few pats on the back before wrapping his arm around my shoulders. I glanced up to see his worried blue eyes looking back at me through the bars of the helmet. "You okay?" His eyes and tone of voice told me he already knew I wasn't.

I settled for a shrug. "I will be." Or so I thought, anyways.

Edward jogged up and flanked my other side. He didn't ask me anything but I saw the look he and Emmett shared, evident concern marring his features. We parted ways, Emmett and Edward making their way to the sidelines while I made my way to go kickoff. My kick was dreadful - horrendous, if I may. A lot of things weren't going right for either team so my poor performance didn't raise much suspicion.

Edward and Emmett appeared to have recruited Jasper as they all hovered over me as I sat on the team bench.

My head was throbbing and I could feel myself starting to get cranky. "I'm fine!" I snapped, standing up a little too fast and moved to stand next to Ben. Standing was making everything worse but it wasn't like I was going to tell them that.

We ended up intercepting the ball, so my three protective momma bears that played offence were forced to pass the torch of scrutinizing me to Ben. Ben engaged me in casual conversation that in theory I was thankful for. In reality, my head hurt too much to try and process the words coming from his mouth so I just smiled and nodded. I felt as though I was being repeatedly beaten by a toddler throwing a tantrum who was wielding a lead baseball bat. Eventually the pain became too great and I knew I had to sit down. I stumbled over the first step I took. Ben's strong hand gripped my arm and helped me regain my equilibrium.

"I just slipped," I explained. Ben raised his eyebrows but didn't say anything.

I was only a few small steps away from the bench when Mr. Wilson called me over. Every step I took towards him made a rave capable of being an epileptic's worst nightmare join the baseball bat that was assaulting my tender head. Mr. Wilson started talking but he sounded like the teacher from Charlie Brown. _Wah waaah wha wha waaah wah wah wah wah waaah…_

As if knowing I wasn't listening, Mr. Wilson waved his hand in front of my face. "Bella?"

Hello hearing. Thanks for returning to this world.

I turned my head quickly and instantaneously felt dizziness and nausea wash over me. I managed to force the nausea away but the dizziness was a persistent little bugger.

Mr. Wilson brought his face level with mine. He breathed a curse as he regarded my face. "CHENEY!" he bellowed.

I didn't hear what was said after that, nor did I really care. Before I could really comprehend what happened, I was sitting on the bench away from most of my teammates.

Ben squatted in front of me. "What's wrong?"

"My head." I could barely hear my own voice. Ben ran off, leaving me alone on the bench.

The dizziness got worse and I suddenly felt exceedingly tired. I had been holding my helmet in my hands but I put it on the bench beside me so I could comfortably curl myself into a ball, resting my head on my knees.

A dark figure loomed over me. I glanced up to see Pierre, and he sat down next to me, not saying a word. The pain became too much and my eyes blurred. I tried to discreetly wipe my eyelids on my pants, trying to get rid of the proof of my weakness.

I was the one to break the lingering silence. "I guess everyone was right. I'm just a weak girl trying to play with the big boys." I could still feel the tears swimming in my eyes from my confession and the unyielding pain.

"Don't say that." His deep voice was softer than I had ever heard it before.

"Why not? It's true. You guys get tackled all the time and are fine, but one of the few times I get tackled -" I gestured to myself, unable to form the words.

"Bella, when you went down, we were all worried. Every one of us. We were surprised you even got up. Hell, only a few guys would probably get up after a tackle like that. So, you may think you're proving your weakness right now, but you're actually proving how much you deserve to be here."

I gave him a watery smile as Ben returned with Mr. Wilson in tow. Ben handed me an icepack while Mr. Wilson put himself at eye-level with me. "There's only a minute 'till halftime. Can you make it until then?"

I nodded my head the slightest amount and made a move to wipe the wet tracks under my eyes that were from a mixture of rain and tears. I saw Mr. Wilson's face soften the slightest amount as he turned and walked back to where he was needed.

At halftime I stood from the bench so I could walk with the team back to the locker room. However, my body seemed to run out of steam. Ben caught me as my legs started giving out, causing me to buckle a few steps backwards. I refused Jasper, Edward, Emmett, Ben, and Pierre's idea of carrying me or having one of them help me walk. Emmett quickly came up with the idea of giving me a piggyback ride. It wouldn't look that suspicious and it would be a lot quicker than me trying to walk on my own.

"Bella, hold on tighter," Emmett told me as he served as my mode of transportation.

"I'm holding on as tight as I can!"

Emmett only let me slide off his back when we were inside the safety of the locker room. After Mr. Wilson's comments, observations and tips - of which I didn't listen to a single word of - he made one of the rookies stay in the change room with me. There was an awkward silence between us that lasted many minutes. I was beginning to doze off, the icepack still held to my head, when the locker room door squeaked open.

A familiar figure filled the doorway before making its way over to me. He was dressed in jeans and a windbreaker instead of his usual scrubs and lab coat.

"Why are you here?" I asked, confused by his appearance.

Carlisle chuckled softly. "I will have you know I don't work all the time. I do get to see my son's games every once in a while."

I shook my head, immediately regretting it. "No no. I mean here… in the locker room. While your son is playing… outside."

"Well, I'm a doctor and you're injured. I think those essentially go hand in hand."

Carlisle stood in front of me. I winced as he poked and prodded my head with his capable hands. "May I see your helmet, Bella?" He hummed and hawed as he fiddled around with it after I passed it to him. "Could you put it on for me?"

I grimaced as I clumsily followed Carlisle's request. He fiddled around a bit more, checking how much extra room I had when my head was turned several ways. "When you hit the ground, did it feel like your head hit the ground first?" he asked, helping me take off the helmet.

"Yeah. Plus the guy practically head-butted me so I doubt that helped the situation."

Carlisle flashed a grin identical to his son's. "No. That wouldn't exactly help." He did some more informal assessments, like making me squeeze his hand as hard as I possibly could – apparently I needed to work on my arm strength, as he didn't even flinch. Carlisle also took a mini flashlight thingy from his key ring and flashed it in each of my eyes a few times.

"From how you landed and how much extra room you have in your helmet because it's too big - not to mention how wore down the padding in it is - I believe you have a concussion. I have more valid reasons to believe this from some of the tests I did but if you go change out of your equipment I'll drive you to the hospital for a formal check."

**~!~DBSYPWTBB~!~**

"Is there any way I don't have to stay at the hospital?"

Carlisle let out a sigh. "I would if I could. You told me Charlie won't be home because he's working the night shift, and you can't be home alone."

"What if I stay with her until Charlie gets home from work?" Edward proposed. That was how long Carlisle and I had been discussing going home vs. spending a single night at the hospital - the game was already finished. Well, we weren't disagreeing for that long since there was a bit of wait time before I was able to get in, regardless that I was with Carlisle. Oh, and Edward had informed me we won the game.

After much pondering, Carlisle agreed to Edward's plan, giving him strict instructions that I decided I didn't need to listen to. We were going to be throwing our awesome two person festivity - that would be more like babysitting on Edward's part - at my house but I agreed to go with Edward to his house first so he could shower. Carlisle was staying at the hospital for a while longer. Why, I didn't understand. He was off the clock but I guess he could have been on-call or something.

I felt myself dozing off on the car ride, not even caring if I drooled on the interior of Edward's car. I could feel Edward trying to shake me awake but I didn't want to open my eyes.

"C'mon, Bella. You're not allowed to fall asleep on me," Edward told me once we pulled into his driveway.

I managed to crack open one eye. "But I'm tired."

"I know, Bella. You have to fight the feeling." Edward came around the car and opened my door. He unbuckled my seatbelt and put a supporting arm around my waist as he pulled me from the car.

We got into the house safely, despite my swaying body and fluttering eyelids. Edward led me to the living room where I sat down hard on the couch and put my head between my knees.

"Promise me you won't sleep, Bella," Edward said, standing in front of the couch.

"I promise," I mumbled. Edward seemed to hear me because he left with the promise he wouldn't be long.

I tried sitting for as long as I could but my head quickly diminished the time, making me feel as though it was too heavy for the world and positively too heavy to be supported by just my neck. I shifted my position on the couch so my head was now resting on the headrest and my body was curled into a ball. I let my body relax as much as I could and let my eyelids slowly fall.

**~!~DBSYPWTBB~!~**

"Hey, you promised me you wouldn't sleep." Edward's smooth but accusing voice floated through the fog in my head.

"I'm not sleeping," I objected, my eyes still closed.

"Oh, really?"

"I'm just resting my eyes." I managed to pry my eyes open and Edward's fuzzy figure swam into view. Even though my vision was blurry, I could see Edward's hair was still wet and stood at strange angles as if he had just run his hand through it. The long sleeved shirt he had on clung to him, no doubt due to water droplets that still lingered on his torso. I breathed and the wonderful scent of freshly showered Edward bombarded my nostrils. I could smell a hint of the soap he always used. I still had not discovered what scent the wonderful aroma originated from.

"You smell nice," I murmured.

"I just showered."

"No, you always smell good," I admitted, looking away from him.

He reappeared in my view as he shifted a bit to the left. "What do I usually smell like?"

I shrugged. "Good smelly stuff."

Edward chuckled. "How hard did you hit your head?" He didn't wait for an answer. He grabbed my hands softly in his larger ones and gently helped me rise from the couch.

He kept a firm hold on me as he led me outside and to the passenger side of his shiny, silver Volvo. The car ride didn't help even though Edward was driving carefully. Every turn, every stop, hell even the car accelerating made me want to curl in a corner and shut out the rest of the world. Edward glanced at me more than he was watching the road – I was concussed, not an idiot - I noticed things. Every time he looked I tried to reassure him with a smile that I was almost positive never got past a grimace.

As soon as I got out of the car and stood, a wave of nausea washed over my entire body. I broke from the hold Edward had on my arm and moved to kneel on the front lawn. Edward was patient and waited with me in the pounding rain that was threatening to turn into a storm.

Once the feeling had passed, I let Edward lead me into the house. I slid onto the couch and hummed in content for having some comfort for my head. I looked up only to meet Edward's questioning glance.

"This couch is comfy as hell," I explained.

"Well, I would imagine hell to be quite uncomfortable," Edward stated. He moved his hand to cradle the side of my face that wasn't pressed against the couch. "How are you doing?"

As if hearing his question, the rave and the Babe Ruth wannabe in my head increased their ministrations.

"It hurts," I whimpered.

"I know, sweetie. I know. You're okay. You're going to be fine," he told me as he tenderly stroked my hair. He pulled the old, white and green afghan off the back of the couch, draping it over me in attempt to maximize what little comfort I could obtain. He leaned down to place a kiss on my pounding head before making his way to the kitchen. He returned with an icepack and sat down on the couch with me. There were a few awkward minutes as we tried to position ourselves comfortably. Try as I might, I couldn't manage to comfortably lie down on the couch and hold the icepack to my head. We ended up with my head on one of the couch's throw pillows on Edward's lap while he remained sitting, being the one holding the icepack to my head.

The ice reduced the lead baseball bat feeling to one in which a persistent child was jumping on a saggy balloon they were determined to pop… but the sad reality they didn't know was the balloon would never pop. The rave was still partying hard with their glow sticks.

Edward had tossed on the television and was now channel surfing.

"I'm sorry about the dance," I apologized for at least the fifth time tonight.

Edward tilted his head down to look at me. "I swear if you apologize one more time I'm going to duct tape you to a tree in the forest."

I frowned. "That's harsh."

I caught a grin as Edward returned his attention to the television screen. "Only slightly."

Hours later, there was a knock on the door. No good shows were on anymore and Edward had changed the icepack nearly a half a dozen times already. Edward slid out from under me so he could go get the door. When he returned, Emmett, Rose, Japer and Alice were in tow. Edward didn't return to his spot on the couch, but sat on the floor directly in front of me instead.

Edward filled them all in on what had happened between the end of the game and now, including Edward's plan to watch me until Charlie got home from work. In return, Edward and I were informed of how the dance went.

"What do you guys want to do?" Rose asked once all the talk of drama surrounding the dance seized.

"Play nap time," I mumbled, shoving myself further into the couch.

"Oh, you need that after playing 'Doctor' with Edward earlier?" Emmett commented with a wicked smile.

I couldn't even come up with a witty retort; it hurt too much to think.

The shrill ring of the phone filled the air. Alice hurried into the kitchen to get it before it could ring for a second time. God bless her. It was only when she returned ten minutes later that I realized she had been gone for that long.

"How awesome am I?" She asked, clearly rhetorically.

Emmett answered anyway. "I don't know. Do share."

Alice clapped and looked liked she was restraining herself from doing a twirl. "I just made Charlie agree to a six person slumber party."

"How did you manage that?" I asked, amazed.

Alice skipped her way back to her seat next to Jasper, who welcomed her with open arms. "I told him that there would be more people to prevent you from sleeping and that Rose and I would have no idea what we would be doing. So he's letting the guys stay as long as there is separation of the genders."

Well... imagine that.

Though the only thing on was infomercials, we didn't turn the television off. They were to serve as background noise. Admittedly, infomercials were usually intriguing and exciting to watch, but all I wanted to do was sleep. Hell, I wasn't even participating in the conversation flowing around the room.

"I'm so sorry," I apologized.

The conversation paused briefly. "What for?" Edward asked.

"I'm such bad company," I explained.

Jasper laughed quietly. "Bella, you have a concussion. I think we can cut you some slack here."

I took the time to look around the room at my friends. I could tell Rose and Alice were already dozing off. Alice had her eyes shut with her head resting on Jasper while Rose was curled into a ball between Emmett and Edward on the floor. I told them to go to my room and sleep. We, and by we I mean Edward, determined it would be better if I stayed on the couch instead of going to my room with Rose and Alice. That way the guys, who were going to sleep in the living room, would be close enough to tend to me and not have to worry about accidentally waking up Rose and/or Alice along with me.

The girls had long since gone to my room when Edward saw my desperate fight with my eyelids. "Bella, you can sleep for a few hours. One of us will wake you up when we need to."

I didn't need to be told twice.

I felt myself being shaken awake far too soon for my liking. I peered through half open lids to find Emmett crouched beside me on the floor next to the couch. Apparently he had the first shift of shining the flashlight in my eyes, the brightness amplified by the darkness of the room.

"I don't even remember what I'm supposed to be looking for here," Emmett mumbled loud enough for me to hear though I was sure letting me hear wasn't his intention.

"So you're just shining a bright light in my eyes for no reason?"

He shut the flashlight off. "Pretty much."

"You're a jackass," I mumbled though my sleep induced haze, unaware if Emmett could actually understand what I had said. Emmett wasn't really a jackass - I just said that because my head now felt like it had front row seat to see Mike Tyson playing the cymbals. And I was really cranky.

"Aww I love you too!" Emmett exclaimed, placing a loud kiss on my cheek with a fake _mwah_.

"Just wake Edward up."

All I can remember after that was spending the rest of the night restless as I was constantly woken up by cell phone alarms and the bright light of the flashlight, never truly allowed to surrender to the dark abyss I longed to visit.

* * *

**SNEAK PEEK-Chapter Nine**

"Mom… MOM! You have to calm down and tell me what's wrong!"

"P-Phil's dead." 


	9. Son of a Bitch

Dear Bella Swan, you're Playing with the Big Boys 

**Disclaimer-I don't own Twilight **

**I know I'm terrible at updating, but I need you guys to have faith in me. I WILL NOT BE ABANDONING THIS STORY. I repeat: I WILL NOT BE ABANDONING THIS STORY. Ya'll know by now it takes me one to two months to update (pathetic, I know). If anything, start getting concerned if I haven't updated in… I don't know… five or six months? Also, I know I slacked at replying to reviews this time around, but it was either respond to them all or work on the chapter. I figured you guys would prefer me getting this chapter out sooner :) **

**This chapter has been edited by Edwardsfavoritebrunette and My-Heart-Of-Music. **

Chapter 9: Son of a Bitch

You know those kind of people in the world who get paranoid all the time and usually over the littlest of things? The people that think every time a mosquito bites them, they'll get West Nile? The people that flip during every thunderstorm because they somehow think Zeus has a personal vendetta against them and it's only a matter of time before they'll be struck by lightning? The people who hear heavy footsteps overhead and immediately think someone's breaking into their house, ignoring the fact three other people are home and the dog is twenty pounds overweight? Well, my mother is one of those people. So when Charlie called her the morning after my football induced concussion and let her know what happened, she wouldn't go a day without calling to check up on me.

That was two weeks ago.

I had perfected the art of answering my mother's phone calls. I had to be the one that answered, not Charlie. If Charlie answered, my mom would panic and wonder why I was unable to get to the phone first. One time I was home alone and in the bathroom when the phone rang, so it was plain obvious I couldn't answer it. Renee had called again not a moment later and, when I answered, she had blamed me for almost giving her a heart attack because she thought I had somehow managed to get myself into a coma. Another thing I always had to do was sound cheery on the phone and never ever, whatsoever, sound distracted.

She called at the same time every day, and today was no different. I heard the phone ring and I took a quick glance at the clock before letting out a long sigh. I heaved myself off the couch and made my way to the kitchen. I leaned against the counter and pressed the green TALK button.

"Hey, mom." I was met with heavy sobs.

I stood up straight. "Mom?" I asked. The sobbing only got harder.

"Bella," she choked through her tears.

I started pacing. I was panicking. I was used to her crying from my years of living with her, but I couldn't figure out why she would call me while she was crying.

"Mom… MOM! You have to calm down and tell me what's wrong!" I begged, feeling myself tear up because I had no idea what was wrong.

"P-Phil's dead," she finally wailed.

I was silent for a long time, processing what she just said. I sat down heavily in one of the worn-out kitchen chairs. "How," I whispered.

"I don't know! I got home and he was dead, just looking through me with his open eyes," she explained. "I don't know what I did wrong."

I frowned, even though she couldn't see it. "You didn't do anything wrong," I promised.

She sniffled. "I fed him, I made sure he was in fresh water, and I even bought him a little castle."

I froze. I slapped my hand over my face when I realized what she just said. "You mean Phil the Fish, right?" I asked carefully. Phil (the husband) was usually out of town for his job so my mom thought it would be a good idea to get a goldfish to keep her company during those times. She thought she was being really creative when she named it after Phil.

My question seemed to sober her up as she exhaled loudly into the receiver. "Goodness, Bella. If my husband died, don't you think I would be a_ little_ more upset than_ this_?"

Hey, she could have fooled me.

We stayed on the phone for well over an hour. Every so often, I had to assure her she could go get another goldfish and name it Phil.

We were talking about her newfound passion in gardening when she changed the subject. "Honey, I'm coming to visit in a few days."

I blinked a few times. "Um, what?"

"I'll be there on Tuesday," she continued, acting as if I had never spoken.

"Does Charlie know?" I finally asked.

"Of course! He even insisted I stay at the house rather then finding somewhere else to stay."

Oh boy.

**~!~DBSYPWTBB~!~**

The following evening Charlie dropped me off at the Billy's house in La Push. Jake was going out and asked if I could watch Seth. Because I was going to be doing the babysitting, Billy took the opportunity to convince Charlie to take him to Port Angeles.

As I approached the house, I noticed there was a black Prius parked next to Jacob's 1967 Chevy Impala. I had a feeling that when Jake told me he was going out he meant he was going on a date.

I hadn't even made it to the stairs when Jake appeared at the screen door. He opened it wide with a smile gracing his face. He was dressed up a little more than usual, and when I passed him to enter the house I caught a whiff of cologne. I smiled to myself. Date it was.

Jake pulled me into the living room. I had to do a double take as I saw two little boys playing with cars in the middle of the floor. The one I unmistakably knew was Seth was in his own little world, playing with just a single car that looked like Mater from _Cars_. The other kid who I couldn't recall ever seeing before in my entire life was hosting his own demolition derby. He had two cars in his hands with at least another ten cars surrounding him. He held a green and purple monster truck in his right hand and a small, blood red sports car in his left. He had them…well…battling, I suppose, in a duel to the death. I knew the little sports car held no chance, and it had absolutely no shot of having a miraculous underdog story.

"Well, you know this little one here is Seth," Jake said, pulling Seth close and ruffling his dark hair. Seth smiled at me before extracting himself from Jake's hold.

"And this here is James," Jake said, gesturing to the sandy haired, brown eyed child surrounded by cars. James was really into his man-made battle - making both car and exploding noises, all while diligently commentating the scene he controlled.

"And James belongs to -" I didn't even finish my question as a fierce and no doubt feisty redhead emerged from the hallway. Her black skinny jeans looked painted on as they hugged every part of her lower body. Her blue bustier type top made her breasts bounce – nearly making her poke herself in the eye- and threaten to escape every time her stripper worthy heels clicked across the floor. And I won't even start on her eight pounds of make-up; five of which were from mascara alone. The party may not have necessarily started when she walked in, but she definitely looked like she brushed her teeth with a bottle of Jack.

"And that would be James' mother, Victoria," Jake introduced, quiet enough that Victoria, who was across the room, couldn't hear.

"You have terrible water pressure in your sink," she remarked, strutting further into the living room and turning her attention fully on James.

I raised an eyebrow at Victoria's rudeness. I looked at Jake, then back at Victoria.

My first impression of Victoria wasn't very good so far, and I had yet to figure out what had compelled Jake to ask her out on a date. "How long have you known her?" I asked, bewilderment lacing my voice.

Jake turned pink. "A few weeks."

"And how _exactly_ did you two meet?" At my question, Jake instantly turned from pink to red. I felt my eyebrows rise. Jake_ never_ blushed when we were kids. He mumbled something I couldn't decipher. "What?" I asked. Jake mumbled again. I narrowed my eyes. "Jake, use your words…"

He let out a large sigh. "E-Harmony," he finally admitted. "This is our first time actually meeting each other. Her babysitter cancelled on her and I figured you could handle two kids."

I waved my hand. "Two kids won't be a problem."

Victoria looked over at Jake, annoyance clearly on her face. "Are we going, or what?"

I raised my hand to my mouth and coughed to hide my smile. Jake was going to be in for an interesting night. Victoria turned her attention to me. "Are you sick? You better not get my baby sick."

I opened my mouth to speak but Jake beat me. "Bella's not sick, Victoria. It's probably just the…dry air in here," he lied.

Victoria breathed deeply. "Yes, the air in here is quite dry."

Jake and I shared a look.

"Anywho, let's go," Victoria ordered, turning to a mirror so she could smear another coat of lipstick on her already vibrant lips. She hugged, well, more like smothered James goodbye. She didn't even wait for Jake as she trotted outside.

Jake gave Seth a huge hug and a kiss goodbye, letting him know he'd be home before he went to bed. Jake snagged his keys out of the bowl by the front door and gave me a quick hug before opening the door.

"Have fun," I teased as he walked out the door and closer to his impending doom.

Little did I know, I would be the one to experience a night of hell. It was only after they drove away that I realized I had just agreed to watch the spawn of the devil.

**~!~DBSYPWTBB~!~**

"JAMES! You have FIVE seconds to get off the counter," I hollered, ignoring the urge to rip out every strand of hair atop my head.

This evening had been worse than every single nightmare and horrific encounter I had ever experienced. Combined. And raised to the power of eight.

It had only taken four minutes after Jake and Victoria left for me to discover James was a stubborn S.O.B. who wouldn't listen to a word I said. That would have been frustrating enough on its own, but James seemed to think pissing me off was the goal of the evening. He took all of Seth's toys, even though Seth was a couple years older than him, and Seth told me his toys weren't worth fighting over. James had also ripped out a handful of pages from Billy's fishing magazine that was left on the coffee table. The worst so far had to be when I got out of the bathroom and saw him running around naked in the backyard. It was not fun trying to get him back in the house. Oh, and he had already taken my phone. Twice.

The latest and current endeavor James had decided to conduct was grabbing one of the chairs in the kitchen and using it to help him climb onto the counter. I glanced at the clock. I had only been here for a little over an hour…

"But I just wanted a glass of water," he whined.

I shook my head. "Well, you should have asked me." I made my way to the sink. "Now, please get down. I'll get it for you."

James reluctantly got off the counter while I grabbed a plastic cup from the cabinet beside the sink. I let the tap run for a few moments before shutting it off, handing the full cup to James.

He let out a mischievous giggle before turning the cup 180 degrees. Water cascaded to the tiled floor, splattering in every direction. I resisted bashing my head against the wooden cabinets. I couldn't even send him to his room since it wasn't even his house.

My phone vibrated in my pocket. I wrestled it out and flipped it open, seeing I had a new message from Edward.

**How goes it?**

I grabbed a towel from the bathroom before responding.

**Terrible **

He responded right away.

**Aw why?**

I tossed the towel to the floor and let it soak up the water, moving it around with my feet as I used my hands to text.

**Wayyy too much to text**

I placed my phone in my pocket and got on all fours to clean up the water. I ignored it when it vibrated, opting to wait until the kitchen floor was dry again before looking at my phone. I tossed the wet towel on the laundry room floor and grabbed my phone.

… **Oh dear**

I didn't respond as I made my way to the living room where both boys were currently situated.

"Can we watch _Go Diego Go_?" James asked. He was sitting less than two feet away from the TV. I didn't even bother trying to move him.

"I don't know, James. It might not be on at all right now," I admitted.

James turned to glare at me, his eyes in such narrow slits I could only see blackness underneath. He drew his eyebrows so close together they appeared to be one. "It's being played a bunch of times today. It's going to be on. Duh."

I looked over at Seth, asking him if he wanted to watch _Go Diego Go._ He lifted his left shoulder up near his ear. "It really doesn't matter to me, I'm not very picky."

_Thank goodness for that._

I turned the TV on, and flipped to the channel that hosted James' beloved show. I sat down next to Seth on the couch, and for the first time of the entire evening, James shut up. I relished the savory sound of silence. Of course, with my crappy luck, the silence lasted all of two minutes.

"I have to pee-pee!" James whined, looking away from Diego and his baby jaguar.

"Then go," I told him, wondering if he needed me to give him permission.

I turned to Seth when I heard the bathroom door close. "I'm _really_ sorry, Seth," I apologized. Seth really was an awesome kid and I felt really bad he had to deal with James. With how much disruption James was causing, I constantly had to deal with the demonic child and in the process, Seth would move himself to the background. I didn't want Seth to think I didn't care about him, nor did I want him to think I was a terrible babysitter for not joining him for many of his games.

"S'okay. It's not your fault."

"Promise?" I asked, holding my pinky towards him.

He laughed. "Yeah, I promise," he said, twisting his pinky around mine.

I heard the bathroom door open, but James didn't reappear in the living room. "BELLA," he called. "I NEED HELP!" I pushed myself off the couch. James was standing in the open door, his clothing thankfully on this time around. As soon as he saw me, he ran towards me. He smiled up at me as he wiped his wet hands on my bare forearm. I grimaced as I thought about the purpose of towels.

"What do you need help with?" I asked as nicely as I could.

James walked back into the bathroom and halted in front of the sink. "I need help turning the sink on. I can't reach."

I reached to turn the brass tap, but my hand froze when it was barely an inch away. My mind flashbacked to what just happened. James wiped his little, wet hands on me, then asked me to turn on the tap for him. I had thought the wetness on his hands was due to water, but I know realized I was sadly, _sadly_ mistaken.

I turned the tap, hearing the sound of rushing water before making a quick exit from the bathroom. I power-walked to the kitchen, trying to ignore the heightened feeling of disgustingness on my arm. I yanked the water on with so much force, that, for a moment, I feared I might have broken the kitchen sink. I grabbed the bottle of green dish soap from the counter, pouring a generous amount into my palm. I let the dish soap become foamy in my hands before scrubbing it on my forearm, stopping just short of my elbow. This kid was going to be the death of me.

By the time I got back to the living room, James had resumed his spot in front of the TV, but had acquired a decently sized Batmobile from somewhere.

I resumed my spot next to Seth, who was now curled on the couch, using the armrest as a pillow. I pulled my phone from my pocket.

**So…Guess who just got piss wiped on their arm?**

Edward was quick to respond, as always.** Really? Are you sure it wasn't just water?**

**He asked me to help him turn on the sink…**

…**Wow**

The sound of something hitting the wall captured my attention. My eyes landed first on the empty handed James, and then to the Batmobile that lay defeated on the floor. Seth sat up and frowned as he looked at the scene before him.

"James, please pick that up." Even though I was at my wit's end with this kid, I still managed to ask nicely.

"No," he sneered.

I took a breath, and forced a smile. "James, please go pick it up."

"No!"

I didn't even bother trying to force kindness in my voice this time. "James, you have five seconds to pick it up."

"You can't make me!" he taunted, crossing his arms.

I got off the couch and squatted right in front of him. "Five… four…three…"

"No! No! No!" He screamed, covering his ears.

"Two… one."

"NOOO!" he screeched, making me wince.

"Go to the corner," I said in an eerily calm voice, pointing towards the empty corner of the room where he wouldn't be able to see the TV.

"Nuh-uh!" he refused, shaking his head violently.

I knew I couldn't physically move him. Well, I could, but I decided it would be best not to try. "Either way, we won't watch _Go Diego Go_." I shrugged, getting up to grab the remote and change the channel.

"NO!" He bolted upright and raced to where the Batmobile lay, grabbing it before throwing himself in the corner. "Put it back on," he shrieked. "I'm in the corner!"

I shook my head, pushing back the headache that wanted to experience the joy of rampaging through my head. "No, it's too late. You didn't go when I first told you to." I passed the remote to Seth while keeping my eyes on James.

James glared at me with all the hatred a four-year-old could possess. I could see frustrated tears forming in the corner of his eyes while his hands formed little fists at his sides. I made my way over to his corner imprisonment, sitting on the ground in front of him.

"Do you know what you did wrong?" I asked, hoping he knew why I made him sit in the corner. I wasn't trying to be a mean, but he was making the choices that landed him in these situations.

Instead of answering, he shifted his arms so he was now clutching the Batmobile tightly to his chest, his glare still intact.

I held my hand out. "Can I have the car, please?"

James looked at me as if I had asked him if I could borrow his jetpack that shot blue and purple flames so I could fly to the jungle and party with Diego and Baby Jaguar without him. James let out an angry cry, swung the Batmobile with a startling amount of force, and it collided with my jaw. It didn't hurt, but it surprised me.

"MINE!" He shrieked, tears streaming down his face as he clutched the object of his affection impossibly closer then he had been holding it before.

"No, actually, it's not yours," I told him, pulling the car from his grasp with some difficulty as he attempted to bite me. "And you shouldn't hit people, either."

James was past the point of sobbing now – lying down and uselessly raising his arms, trying to grab the car back from me. He was shrieking words in such a high octave, I couldn't have understood them if I wanted to.

I stayed sitting on the floor, but moved a few feet away. Seth climbed off the couch and shuffled his way over to where I sat.

"You don't have to stay in here if you don't want to," I told him, not wanting Seth to feel he had to stay and experience James' tantrum.

Seth ignored me. "Are you okay?" he asked.

I smiled at him. "I'm fine."

He put his hands on my face, gently turning my head left, then right. "You have a red mark," he stated, gently tapping the spot on my face with his fingers.

"It'll fade."

James now sobbed so hard he had globs of snot dribbling down his face. There were moments where I thought he was going to make himself vomit from the combination of crying so hard and having major snot blockage in his nose. I had tried to clean his face up for him, multiple times, but he would swat my hand away every time the Kleenex got close to him.

"You really don't have to stay in here," I told Seth again. He had gone and grabbed a pillow from one of the bedrooms, and curled into a ball on the floor beside me.

"But there's nothing else to do."

Fair enough.

It took a while before James got tired and eventually calmed down enough for the tears to cease. He now sat with his back to me, pouting in the corner.

As soon as I saw headlights flash through the front window, I saw the gates of heaven open with a flourish of light, accompanied by doves flying in an organized pattern. A choir of angels singing in perfect harmony supplied the soundtrack.

As soon as the front door opened, James booked it, running into his mother's waiting arms. "Baby, you look like you didn't have any fun at all," Victoria crooned.

Jake appeared and smiled down at Seth, who was still curled up on the floor. "What? I don't get a running hug?"

"Go," I said, nudging Seth into a sitting position. "Make your dad think you love him."

Seth laughed a little before pushing himself off the floor. He made a show of preparing to run before sprinting the short distance to Jake, jumping into his arms effortlessly, as if they did this everyday. Jake spun Seth around a few times before putting him back on the floor.

Since I had been watching the scene before me, I didn't notice Victoria approaching me until she was less than a foot away.

"You're filth," she seethed. "How could you take away a little boy's toy, change the channel in the middle of his _favorite_ show, and send him to the corner for absolutely no reason at all?"

"James was sent to the corner because he didn't listen to me, _multiple times_. It also wasn't his toy he was playing with and misusing. And I was watching two kids. That means I have to accommodate what two people want, not just one, so why should I let the one who was misbehaving decide what we watch?"

Victoria narrowed her eyes. I could see where James got his temper. "My son never misbehaves." She raised her voice loud enough that everyone could now hear her. "You are just an inadequate little girl who isn't fit for watching anyone's child."

I heard Seth ask Jake what inadequate meant.

"Maybe not when you're home," I tried to explain. "But James' behavior tonight was far from acceptable."

Victoria opened her mouth, but it was Seth's voice I heard. "Bella is the best babysitter I've ever had. James kept doing bad stuff and was being mean."

"Tattletale!" James accused, pointing at Seth.

"Nuh-uh!"

Jake put his hands on Seth's shoulders. "Go brush your teeth," he said. I knew it was just to remove Seth from the drama. Seth dragged his feet all the way to the bathroom.

"Victoria, Bella is perfectly capable of handing children. I'm sure James is a good kid, but he might of just been having a bad night," Jake defended, trying to placate Victoria.

"You're taking her side on this?" Victoria scoffed. "C'mon, James. We're leaving. Now." Victoria grabbed James' hand and pulled him out the door, slamming it shut behind them. I watched as she sped off, flinging back rocks from the dirt path, her black Prius matching the color of her heart.

"Well, that was fun," I mumbled, my voice overflowing with sarcasm.

I looked over at Jake, seeing him holding back laughter. "I'm gunna go change real quick before I drive you home," he said. "Can you check on Seth?"

I nodded and poked my head in the open bathroom door, seeing Seth brushing his teeth with a concentrated look.

I grinned. "Seth, hurry up, bud."

He looked over at me, spitting before responding. "But I haven't been brushing for two minutes yet!"

Seth held up three fingers, holding them up for me to see for a few long moments before quickly putting one of them down.

"Alright, well, just come out when you're done."

Jake met me in the living room shortly after I left the bathroom, having swapped his pants for sweatpants and his button-down shirt for a t-shirt.

"So, how was your night?" I asked.

Jake shook his head and grimaced. "Let's just say there won't be a second date."

I chuckled. "That bad?"

He let out a groan. "You have no idea," he said. "How 'bout you? That bad?"

"You have no idea," I echoed.

Seth joined us in the living room and we all made our way outside. Jake locked the house and the three of us piled into Jake's Impala. Since I didn't have a car, and Charlie was out with Billy, Jake was driving me home.

"So, tell me all about your evening endeavors," Jake prompted as he pulled out the driveway. "Just remember Seth's in the backseat in case you had planned on using adult words."

I frowned. "This is going to be a challenge."

**~!~DBSYPWTBB~!~**

The day before the arrival of my darling mother consisted of me cleaning every surface of the house I could possibly find. Now, don't get me wrong, I love my mother. But she is one helluva clean freak.

The oven had already completely cooled down to its original temperature; my dinner was already well on its way through my digestive system. I wasn't expecting Charlie home anytime soon. He and a group of cops from here in Forks were helping with something in Port Angeles. Charlie had warned me he was going to have a long night, but I wondered if he would be home by tomorrow morning. Just as that thought fluttered through my brain, a single, loud knock sounded on the door. I glanced at the clock, frowning as I wondered who could possibly be visiting this late.

I opened the door to find two cops looking back at me. Neither of them was Charlie. The cop on the right was clearly the older and more experienced of the two. His heavily streaked grey hair, paired with his kind hazel eyes and round cheeks made me think I had met him previously, no doubt a long time ago. "Bella," he greeted without emotion. I glanced between the two men, wide-eyed, wondering what was going on. "I'm Officer Cooper and this is Officer Nelson. We're very sorry to have to tell you this… but something happened to your father."

Dread filled every fiber in my body. My legs couldn't support me anymore and my shoulder bashed against the doorframe as I leaned against the wall for support. I didn't realize my body was beginning to curl into itself, nor did I notice I was shaking, hard, until my hands were pried from around my body and engulfed in a tight grip.

"Bella! He's not dead. Do you hear me? Your. Father. Is. Not. Dead," Officer Cooper said, staring directly into my eyes.

"I need to go check on him," I said, my voice rattling even though I spoke barely above a whisper.

"Bella. Be reasonable. He's fine; visiting hours are over, and it's a school night," Officer Cooper explained, trying to be the voice of reason.

"Charlie's not seriously injured," Officer Nelson added, speaking for the first time.

"If it wasn't serious enough for me to go see him right now, then why didn't he call and tell me himself? Why did the two of you have to come here and tell me?" I asked, my heart still hammering restlessly in my chest. I was beginning to fear my heart would soon provide me with bruised or broken ribs.

"He's probably still in surgery."

I felt my eyes widen significantly. It took everything in me to not let out a bitter laugh. "And you don't think surgery is serious?"

Officer Cooper let out a breath and looked at me with gentle eyes. "Bella, I don't think you understand how much your father worries about you. You're what he talks about at work eighty percent of the time.

"When we got the call letting us know what happened, I knew he would have wanted someone to come tell you why he wasn't going to be home. He never would have wanted you to worry."

I was stunned by Officer Cooper's words. I wiped away the tear I didn't even know I released.

"He'll be fine. He's fine."

As a little girl, I was always worried about my dad when he went to work. I knew bad things happened to good people who were just trying to make the world a better place. There were times I would just sit in my room, sobbing because I didn't know when Charlie would be coming home, or if he would even come home. It took me a lot of years to realize in the town of Forks, the most vicious crimes came in the forms of TPing the lone local high school, or some drunken idiot taking a piss on someone's collection of garden gnomes. I hadn't cried in my room for years, but every time I knew Charlie was helping in one of the bigger cities, my insides would involuntarily clench and tangle, and a brief wave of panic and anxiety would wash over me. I learned to ignore the feeling because nothing would ever happen to him, but I now knew that wasn't the case.

"Will you be okay by yourself?" Officer Nelson asked, giving me a sympathetic smile.

I nodded, not even trying to force a smile on my face.

"We'll be at the station all night. You know how to reach us."

I nodded again, lifting my hand in a half-hearted wave as they retreated down the stairs. I shut the door, locking it before I leaned against it. I let out a few shaky breaths, trying to compose myself.

Charlie would be okay. He had to be.

**~!~DBSYPWTBB~!~**

I called the hospital in Port Angeles early the next morning before school, arguing with the receptionist for a couple long minutes about how it wasn't too early to call before playing the distraught daughter card.

Charlie seemed surprise by my call, and I told him about the late night visit I had.

"The one cop, Officer Cooper, I believe, spoke as if he knew you inside and out," I said, the phone cradled between my shoulder and my ear as I spread jam on my toast.

Charlie let out a chuckle before letting out a groan of pain. "That's because he does, Bella. I've worked with him for twenty-one years."

"Oh," I said, because that was the only response I could come up with.

"Yeah," Charlie said. "He knows me better than my own mother."

I took a bit of my toast. "Speaking of mothers… you know mine is flying in today, right?"

"How could I forget?" I couldn't place Charlie's tone. He sounded almost nervous with a hint of embarrassment.

"I think you put yourself in the hospital on purpose," I teased, trying to lighten my own mood.

Charlie let out a round of laughter. "Yes, Bella. I planned to get shot to avoid your mother."

I chuckled for a moment before I actually processed what he had said. I realized I hadn't known what had happened to him - I hadn't been told at all the night before. "YOU GOT WHAT?" I yelled, unable to keep my voice down.

I heard Charlie sigh on the other end. "Don't worry, they got the bullet out. Besides, it didn't even hit anything important."

I shook my head and rolled my eyes. Men.

"Listen, I'm going to let you go. I know you'll get picked up shortly and I don't want you to be late because you were talking to your old man. I'll call you later today though, okay?"

"Okay," I sighed. "I love you," I added, the words flowing out of my mouth on their own accord.

I knew I caught Charlie off guard, and it took him a few short moments before he responded. "I love you too."

I hung up, looking at my toast with only a single bite out of one of the pieces. My stomach protested loudly as I threw the toasted bread in the garbage, no longer having an appetite.

I was ready and waiting on the porch when Edward pulled into the driveway, something I never did. I clomped down the steps and rushed to the passenger side.

Edward looked over at me, tilting his head a fraction to the left. "You okay?"

A rush of emotions passed through me. I just learned my father got shot. I was far, far from okay. I knew how utterly transparent my emotions could be, but I lied anyways. I forced the corner of my lips up. "Yeah, I'm just tired."

Edward knew I was lying, and I knew that Edward knew I was lying. Edward, however, seemed to know me well enough to let it be… for now.

"You excited for your mom coming today?" he asked, testing the waters by trying to make conversation.

"Yeah, I guess," I mumbled, staring blankly out my window. That was the extent of our conversation for the entire drive to school.

School itself was an absolute nightmare. I knew a large part of it was simply from the state of mind I was in, and had been in, ever since Charlie told me he was shot. Ever since the moment Edward and I met up with everyone by our standard picnic table outside, I just wanted to clam up and not talk to anyone. I wanted space. I wanted to be an outcast for a bit. I talked myself out of leaving, knowing it would only be a handful of long minutes before we would all have to go to class and I could avoid talking a lot easier.

I coasted through English and Biology without getting called on. We played basketball in gym, and I didn't try one bit. If I was passed the ball, I passed it right back to the person who passed to me originally, making my team lose the ball numerous times. I didn't care. Alice, Rose, and Angela all knew something was wrong, but they had yet to question me about it.

"We'll see you in the caf," Alice said as she and Rose took off towards their lockers. Earlier, they had asked if I wanted them to walk with me to my locker, but I declined as graciously as I could.

I automatically nodded, but as I thought about eating lunch in a confined space in which people spoke at the top of their lungs to ensure their conversations were the loudest, my stomach churned. Instead of turning left, towards my locker where I would grab my lunch and no doubt go to the cafeteria, I turned to the right. I walked down the short hall and pushed open the large double doors that led me to my relatively quiet escape.

I had forgone wearing my coat, but was comforted by the nippy wind as it alternated between caressing and biting my skin.

I knew I had the tendency to slip into these moods sometimes, but today was one of my worst. I knew it wasn't just the news of Charlie, but I was at a loss as to what exactly was playing a role in my disastrous mood. I was trying my best to make it through the day, but I was struggling. A lot. Actually, a whole helluva a lot.

I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket, knowing exactly who it was. I hated that my mood was affecting Alice, Rose, and the guys. I wasn't trying to, and I didn't want to; the chips were just falling however they pleased. The vibrating occurred several times, but stopped after a few minutes. It wasn't very long after that that I heard one of the metal doors creak open. I couldn't hear footsteps over the wind, but I knew there was someone coming my way.

"Wanna talk, or be left alone?" Jasper asked, taking a seat on the ground beside me.

I glanced over at him. I couldn't stand the look of concern marring his face. I swallowed thickly and tore my gaze from him. I looked forward, staring at a tree's branches as the few leaves left fought against the elements wanting to take them away. My hands rested on the ground beside me, moving on their own accord to start picking strands of the slowly dying grass. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Jasper regarding me.

"I'll take that as wanting to be left alone." He didn't sound offended or frustrated. In fact, he sounded kind of understanding. He stood, brushing off the seat of his pants. "You haven't eaten at all, have you?"

I shook my head.

"Are you hungry?"

I shrugged.

He put his hand in his pants pocket and withdrew a semi-smushed granola bar. He held it out, offering it to me.

My arm raised of its own accord, my body knowing it wanted food, ignoring my mind's reluctance of the mere thought of putting food in my mouth. "Thank you," I said, my voice hoarse from non-use.

He placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. "You have about another twenty minutes before the bell, okay? I nodded and he squeezed my shoulder gently before retreating.

I let out a shaky breath, closing my eyes and letting currents of wind move against me, as the air was determined to stroke every inch of my body.

I made my way back inside when fifteen minutes had passed, wanting to take in account the nuisance that was my locker. I managed to slide into math just moments after the warning bell rang. Edward looked up as I approached our desk, and I gave him a tight smile. He returned it sadly. As I took my seat, I noticed Edward sat almost as far away as the desk would allow, giving me as much space as he could.

We were in the middle of taking a note and Mr. Wilson wrote down an example question. Everyone pulled out his or her calculators and started to figure out the answer. I was just pulling my calculator from my pencil case when he called on me to answer.

"I don't know yet," I murmured, holding up my cased calculator, trying to convey I hadn't even started punching in numbers.

Edward was whispering the answer next to me, which was just messing me up more as I rushed to figure out the answer on the board. I hated getting called on when I didn't have my hand up. I didn't like the pressure of having to answer when I didn't want to or didn't know the answer. I plugged in a wrong number and had to start over again. The class was still silent and I glanced up at Mr. Wilson who was looking back at me, waiting for an answer.

"I don't know," I repeated. "Ask someone else." It came out harsher than I intended.

I looked away, wanting to avoid Mr. Wilson's no doubt disappointed and most likely offended expression, along with the stares I probably received from my classmates.

"Anyone?" Mr. Wilson asked.

The majority of the class raised their hands. Edward was the one to answer correctly, with the answer he had whispered to me earlier. I laid my head in my arms, attempting to withdraw myself from the world. My throat closed and a strong wave of overwhelming emotion rushed over me. This was turning out to be an extraordinarily long day.

And to add to my perfect mood, because it was the day before our first playoff game, we had football practice. If school was the sprinkles on my metaphorical dairy delight representing my wonderful day, then practice was undeniably the cherry.

I was well aware of how much everyone fooled around and slacked during practices, but today was the first day it really bothered me. Yeah, we all knew we basically had tomorrow's game in the bag, but it didn't change the fact it was our last practice before playoffs. As much as I wanted to say something, I resisted.

Mr. Wilson didn't say anything about me snapping at him during Math, but I did give him a quick apology on my way off the field when practice was over.

Edward was the one driving us all home, and Emmett refused to get in the front seat, insisting on giving it to me.

"No, it's okay," I said, my voice quiet. "You always get it for the extra room."

"Well, I don't want it today," Emmett declared, sliding into the backseat.

"Okay, then Jasper can have the front."

"I don't want it either," Jasper stated, walking to the opposite side of the car to get in the backseat. "Besides, you get dropped off last when Edward drives, anyways."

"Are you guys sure?" I asked, hovering awkwardly by the door.

Emmett sighed. "Bella, I will pick you up and put you in the front seat if I have to," he said before shutting the car door.

I slid into the front seat and the car lurched forward. Jasper was dropped off first, followed by Emmett. Before Emmett got out of the car, he leaned over my seat to give me an awkward hug from the backseat, which basically resulted with my face in his armpit.

"Bella, I want you to take a nap as soon as you get home," he told me, releasing me from his hug.

"But-"

"Just have a nap. You'll feel loads better," he promised. "I just want to see you smiling tomorrow, okay?" He shot me a smile, not in amusement at my troubled state, but rather with tenderness.

I nodded and watched Emmett trot up his driveway. It was a short drive to my house and as soon as Edward turned down my street, I saw a sleek blue rental car parked in the driveway. As soon as he halted to a stop, my mom shot from the house and was next to me before I was even out of the car. She squeezed me in a tight hug that I returned weakly.

"Hi, baby," she greeted, holding my face carefully in my hands. She looked away from my face and into the car. "You must be Edward."

"Um, y-yeah," Edward stammered, slightly taken aback.

"Bella's told me all about her friends. I used process of elimination to figure out who you were," Renee stage-whispered as if she was letting Edward in on some big secret. "Do you have plans for tonight, Edward?

"No, not really." It came out more like a question.

"Perfect! Why don't you come in for a bit?"

Edward glanced at me. "I don't think-"

"Nonsense," Renee interjected. "I insist!"

Edward seemed to be at a loss, having no idea what he was supposed to do.

"Mom, why don't you head inside and we'll meet you in there." As soon as Renee was halfway to the door, I turned to Edward. "If you're okay with it, just come in."

Edward frowned as he looked at me. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. I'm fine. But only come in if you want to. She wants to meet everyone eventually, so it's your choice of sooner or later," I explained with a shrug.

"Bella, it's up to you. I'm fine either way."

I looked up towards the sky, seeing dark storm clouds forming overhead. I let out a gust of air before looking back at Edward. "It's probably better to just bite the bullet."

Edward shifted into park and turned the car off. He walked over to me and we made our way to towards the house.

"Renee is… unique," I warned Edward. "And can sometimes be a basket case."

I saw a smirk form on Edward's face. "I'm sure it'll be fine, Bella."

As soon as we entered the house, Renee went on question overload, asking both Edward and me so many questions at once, we couldn't remember them all. I told her all about Forks and football while Edward was forced to answer questions about himself; I already knew most of this information.

This took almost two hours.

My butt was so far asleep I had a feeling it was in a coma by now. The dark clouds I had seen earlier were now doing their duties as we were well into a storm that was surprisingly still only rain.

The phone rang and Renee took it upon herself to go to the kitchen to pick it up.

I was slouched with my neck resting on the back of the couch. I turned my head to glance at Edward. "You might want to escape while you have the chance," I told him, only half-kidding.

Edward laughed. "It's not _that_ bad."

"Just you wait," I muttered.

Renee re-entered the living room with the cordless phone. "Bella, your father is on the phone for you."

_Good luck_, I mouthed to Edward before grabbing the phone and retreating to the kitchen. I spoke to Charlie for a little bit. He was doing really well but still wouldn't be released for a few days. I couldn't help but smile at his parting words of asking me to make sure Renee behaved. I entered the living room to find a strange look masking Edward's face.

"Bella, honey, I was just telling Edward how Charlie got shot last night."

Oh. Well that would explain the strange look.

"He's fine, though. No need to dwell on that topic," Renee continued. "Are you thirsty at all, Edward? Can I get you anything to drink?"

Edward shifted in his seat. "Water would be great, thanks."

"Okiedokie." Renee disappeared into the kitchen and I slowly resumed my spot next to Edward on the couch.

"Why didn't you tell any of us?" Edward asked gently. "We're here for you, you know that."

"I know," I breathed. "But I think it was one of those situations where if I didn't say it then it couldn't have happened. Does that make sense?"

Edward nodded. "Yeah, that makes sense. It was just hard seeing you so… unlike yourself today… and not knowing what in the world any of us could do to help."

I ducked my head. "I know. I'm sorry."

"Oh goodness," Edward said, shaking his head with a slight grin. "Don't apologize, Bella."

Just as Renee joined us and handed Edward his water, a deep rumble of thunder sounded from outside. I could hear the raindrops fall faster and heavier. I knew it was only a matter of time before lightning would join the symphony of elements. Just as I thought this, a flash of lightning illuminated the window.

Renee frowned at the window before glancing at her watch. "Oh! I should start dinner."

I felt my eyes bulge. Renee could not make anything edible if her life depended on it. She could barely pour her own cereal. I held up a hand to stop her. "Mom, don't worry about making dinner."

Edward chugged down his water, pulling his cell phone from his pocket to look at the time. "I should probably head home for dinner," he said sincerely, rising to his feet.

"Are you sure, Edward?" Renee pouted.

I rubbed my temples. "Mom," I warned.

"Fine," she huffed. "I hope you come over again soon, Edward. It was lovely meeting you."

A boom of thunder accompanied by a crack of lighting was shortly followed by a loud crack of something else. A shrill groan of metal soon followed. We all glanced out the window, trying to see what the second crack belonged to. The large tree that used to reside on the front lawn of the neighbors across the street no longer stood vertically, but horizontally. Its trunk stretched across the street, blocking the western part of the road. Edward would have been able to drive home by taking the eastern part of the road if it wasn't for the thick collection of tree branches that had pushed against the driver's side door, severely denting it.

Edward was the first one to say something. "Well… I think I'm screwed."

* * *

**SNEAK PEEK-Chapter Ten**

"Bella," he called.

I ripped my helmet from my head and tossed it unceremoniously on the abused ground. I spun to face the group of guys looking at me. "That's how you play like a girl," I spat out, turning and walking away once more. I wasn't aware of anyone trailing after me until a strong arm gripped my elbows, pulling me to a stand-still.

* * *

**I know it's been a while and I'm a little rusty, but let me know what you think! **


	10. Buttons Pushed too Far

Dear Bella Swan, you're Playing with the Big Boys 

**Disclaimer-I don't own Twilight **

**So over at A Darker Twilight, DBSYPWTBB is 59th on the list of the Top 100 Fanfic stories! For the full list, there's a link on my profile. Thank you for those who nominated this story, it means a lot to me. **

**University is overrated. Studying, reading a chapter every night from five different textbooks, midterms, tests, exams…. Ugh. That's all I have to say. Oh, and I love each and every one of you for sticking with me! (I tried to put several hearts here but it won't let me put less than signs) **

**This chapter has been edited by Edwardsfavoritebrunette and My-Heart-Of-Music. **

Chapter Ten: Buttons Pushed too Far

_A boom of thunder accompanied by a crack of lighting was shortly followed by a loud crack of something else. A shrill groan of metal soon followed. We all glanced out the window, trying to see what the second crack belonged to. The large tree that used to reside on the front lawn of the neighbors across the street no longer stood vertically, but horizontally. Its trunk stretched across the street, blocking the western part of the road. Edward would have been able to drive home by taking the eastern part of the road if it wasn't for the thick collection of tree branches that had pushed against the driver's side door, severely denting it._

_Edward was the first one to say something. "Well… I think I'm screwed."_

"Does this mean you're staying for dinner?"

I shot Renee a look over my shoulder. _Really, Mom? Really?_

She tried, and failed, to mirror my expression. "Calm down, I'm just making sure."

Edward, oblivious of our exchange, scrubbed his face with his hands a few times. "Yes, I do believe so."

My mother rushed off to the kitchen, and as badly as I wanted to chase after her and prevent her from burning down the house, I stayed with Edward.

"You got insurance?" I asked, staring at the thick branches that belonged to the car-molesting tree.

"Yeah," he sighed. "But still…"

I raised a hand to his back, not thinking twice about it. "It'll be okay," I murmured, rubbing his back with a few long strokes, his body heat spreading into my hand. We stayed that way, quiet, for a few moments.

Ever so subtly, something shifted in the air between us. My hand slowed until it came to a complete stop, my fingers curling into the fabric on Edward's lower back of their own accord. Edward titled his head to look down at me. My fingers released themselves from his clothing as he pivoted, causing us to stand face-to-face with one another. I looked up at him, our eyes locking. His gentle green eyes regarded me for a few long seconds, and I could feel heat steadily seep through my skin. Never taking his eyes from mine, his hand found purchase on my forearm and his fingers slowly descended, tracing a tantalizing pattern on their way. When he reached my hand, he took it into his own.

My stomach went all fluttery.

"Hi," I whispered stupidly, biting my bottom lip.

His amusement was evident in his grin. "Hi."

I swallowed loudly, as if I had to overcome a knot of nerves in my throat. What the hell were we even doing? What did it even mean?

"Bella," Renee called from the kitchen. "How do you turn the oven on?"

I squeezed my eyes shut and dropped my head. Edward chucked lightly and gave my hand a quick squeeze before releasing it. I took a few steps backward before re-opening my eyes. Edward was a few feet away, his arms crossed and his eyes gleaming.

Renee's voice floated in from the kitchen. "I can't find my glasses, and don't know if I'm supposed to heat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit or 425 degrees Celsius."

Edward let out a bark of laugher while I shook my head in disbelief. The oven didn't even go up to 425 degrees Celsius.

"This is why I don't let you cook," I mumbled under my breath, making my way to the kitchen. I felt Edward's gaze burning my back, and I fought the urge to glance behind me.

"He's nice," Renee commented the moment I was in her sight. It wouldn't have bothered me if not for the faux lighthearted tone that was oh-so familiar. Over the years, Renee was not shy whatsoever in her commentary about boys, friends or otherwise.

"Mom," I warned, turning on the oven to the proper temperature.

"And cute," she continued, craning her neck to glance in the living room.

"MOM!" I could feel my eye starting to twitch.

She shook her head. "What, Bella? I'm just saying he seems like a charming young man."

_Among other things, _I mentally added.

Edward was reclined on the couch and talking on his cell phone when I walked back into the living room. He looked up and gave me a quick smile before turning his attention back to the phone.

I debated joining him on the couch, but wimped out at the last second and took a seat on the loveseat instead, opting to stare at his strong jaw line and perfectly tousled hair from a distance. He really was an extraordinary human being graced with astounding good looks.

I watched as he spoke into the phone, memorized by the way his lips moved. I felt an unfamiliar heat seep through my body and tore my gaze away from Edward, knowing he was the one responsible for the foreign feeling.

With my newfound interest in the design in the fabric of the armrest, I wasn't aware that Edward had got off the couch, or even off the phone, until he sat next to me on the loveseat.

"That was my dad. He said if the storm dies down a bit during the evening, they'd come get me. If not, he said to see if I could just crash here overnight…" he trailed of, rubbing the back of his neck.

I nodded. "Okay."

Edward let out a quiet chuckle. "Okay to which one?"

I shrugged and started pulling at a loose string on the couch. "Both, I guess."

Silence hung in the air between us. The only distant sounds we heard were of Renee banging about in the kitchen.

"So…" Edward began. "What do you wanna do?"

I looked around and frowned. "There really isn't much to do. I have a pretty boring house," I admitted with a small shrug. It wasn't like my house being boring was a huge secret. Whenever the six of us hung out, it was rarely at my house since all there was for entertainment were a television and DVD player. Hell, the only board game we owned was a prehistoric version of Clue with over half the cards missing.

"I'm sure there's something we can do," Edward murmured, more to himself than to me.

We sat on the loveseat, letting our eyes repeatedly scan the surrounding area in hopes that something fun would miraculously present itself. Nothing did.

"Um, we could play hide n' go seek," I offered.

Edward grinned but shook his head. "That's absolutely pathetic with only two people."

I threw up my hands in defense. "It was just a suggestion."

Shockingly enough, Renee was the one to help us out of our predicament. Not even two minutes after Edward shot down the idea of hide n' go seek and failed to come up with an idea of his own, Renee floated her way into the living room.

"Do you kids have any homework?"

I peeked over at Edward to find him nodding his head.

"A little bit," I admitted, turning my attention back to Renee.

She planted her hands on her hips and instantly went into full mom mode. "Then what are you just sitting here for? Get started."

"Yes, ma'am," I saluted, reaching down to grab my backpack I had discarded earlier beside the couch.

Renee watched as Edward and I worked on removing what we needed from our bags. Only when she was sure we were actually intending to do our homework did she turn and start walking up the stairs. I waited until she was fully out of sight and hearing range before turning to Edward.

"This coming from the woman who tried to convince me homework was a waste of time when I was younger," I told him with a snort.

He grinned. "Yeah, I'd believe that."

Edward and I wasted no time in taking full advantage of the long, solid coffee table. In a matter of minutes, the table was unrecognizable under a blanket of loose papers, binders and textbooks. Doing homework with Edward wasn't as weird as I thought it would be. Granted, we basically sat in total silence, but the atmosphere was more comforting than awkward.

Renee made her presence in the house - along with her vast approval of Edward - known during her numerous check-ups on us where she constantly fretted over making sure we had enough water in our glasses and that the temperature of the house was to his liking.

I snuck a glance over at Edward only to find he was already looking at me. I felt the familiar warmth in my cheeks and my eyes flickered to the wall behind Edward for a moment. I took a deep breath before meeting Edward's gaze once again. I opened my mouth to say something, but stopped when a familiar scent from my childhood wafted itself into my nostrils.

"Mom," I hollered. "Check the oven!" Our oven was the definition of old school and therefore didn't have a timer we could set. Whenever I made food, I usually set a timer on the microwave to alert me, but my gut told me Renee hadn't thought of doing such a thing after I had left the kitchen. Renee rushed down the stairs, and the smoky scent of something burning became more prominent as she opened the oven.

Renee poked her head out the kitchen door. "Pizza's ready. It's a bit burnt, but it should be fine as long as you don't eat the crust."

After one look at the pizza, I realized how much my mom misjudged the edibility of the pizza. She would have been more accurate if she told us not to eat the crust along with the three inches worth of pizza after it.

We brought our plates into the living room, settling ourselves back onto the couch. I chose to ignore the fact that my hand was shaking as I lifted the slice of pizza to my mouth. I don't think it went unnoticed by Edward though, as I noticed his gaze on my hands and a smirk etched on his face. Damn him and his ability to make me feel so nervous around him sometimes.

**~!~DBSYPWTBB~!~**

Edward and I had long since given up on our homework, opting instead to let our attention be captured by the Ace of Cakes marathon playing on the Food Network. I was resting on my side and had my legs innocently lying across Edward's thighs. Edward had one hand tucked behind his head and the other placed over my ankles, rubbing them occasionally.

Renee trekked in front of the television on her journey to the front window, regarding the two of us with a secret smile along the way. She squinted and regarded the elements for a few brief moments before turning to face us. "I think it's starting to clear up."

As if on cue, I could hear Edward's phone chime in his pocket. I lifted my legs off him so he could retrieve his phone, swinging myself into an upright position.

He glanced at the screen before answering it. "Hey, Dad." Their conversation was brief and lasted less then a minute.

Renee joined us in the living room as we waited for Carlisle to arrive. As soon as we saw bright headlights flash through the rain-streaked window, Edward and I made our way to the door. During the short walk, I suddenly became unbearably shy. I don't think I was the only one as I noticed Edward had stuffed his hands in his pockets and ducked his head.

"I'll see you tomorrow, I guess," I murmured as I opened the front door, avoiding any contact with his eyes.

"Yeah. Thanks for your hospitality." He frowned briefly, hearing how awkwardly formal he sounded. He cleared his throat and shouted a thank you to Renee before turning on his heel and started making his way through the omnipresent rain. Edward had only taken a few steps out the door when he turned back around.

"Don't," he murmured, his face serious.

I frowned. "Don't what?"

A ghost of a smile graced his lips. "Don't over-think. You do that too much."

"What am I over-thinking?" But I knew exactly what he was talking about. The skin that Edward touched hours before now tingled in delight.

A full smile crept across his face, making his eyes crinkle a bit in the corners. He bit his lip for a brief moment before releasing it and walking back to where I stood. He stood in front of me, making me crane my neck up to look at him. His hand rose to my face, cradling it. My heart took the opportunity to jump in my throat and rattle itself around to the extent where I couldn't have spoken if I wanted to. He pressed his lips against my forehead and my eyes fluttered shut.

He kept his lips against my skin as he spoke. "You know exactly what."

I felt him move away but my eyes remained shut, only opening when I heard the sound of a car door opening.

"Bella?" Renee called as I watched Edward slide into Carlisle's car.

I could see Edward run his hand through his hair before he turned his head, giving me one of his many dazzling smiles. My answering smile was weak; his dazzling ability had such an effect on me. I couldn't look away, and we kept our eyes locked until Carlisle pulled out of the driveway. I felt a foreign feeling deep in my stomach… it had to be a step or two past butterflies.

"Bella? Sweetie?" Renee repeated, slightly louder and with a hint of concern.

"I think I'm just going to go to bed."

**~!~DBSYPWTBB~!~**

In Biology, we were getting back the test we had taken the previous week. I figured I had gotten a decent mark; I only rambled when answering a few questions in the hope of getting part marks. Mr. Banner placed my test face down in front of me. I flipped it over, expecting to have somewhere close to eighty percent. Instead, fifty-eight percent greeted me in bold, red ink.

_We'll ain't that a slap to the face?_

I skimmed through my test, spotting numerous x's and questions marks littered across the collection of pages.

"Many of you did very, very well. However, there are others who have done very poorly - too many, because you have proven with previous work that you are capable. Clearly, there are a number of you who didn't put any effort into your preparation."

I bit back the bitterness that rose within me. I always attended class, paid attention, and did my homework. I also studied my butt of for this test that just happened to be ten percent of our final grade.

I was in a foul mood – well, more of a foul mood than I had already been in – for the remainder of class. It didn't improve in gym.

Royce was pissing me of more than usual, and Rose's ignorance was nudging me to my wit's end. I was literally just waiting for Royce to start grinding on Rose and informing her she aroused him like a rhino in heat. It was times like this that I truly wished Emmett were in our class. I loved Rose, I really did, but lately she had become a complete and utter dimwit with an extra helping of snarky on the side.

I stomped my way to my locker, hoping, by some miracle, that a large cake accompanied by an assortment of fudge brownies would appear on the top shelf of the unfaithful, metal contraption. Sadly, there was nothing of the sort when I finally managed to get the wretched door open.

I rested my head against my locker, looking at my biology binder I had just shoved angrily on the top shelf. I only hesitated for a few short seconds before grabbing my inadequate test. For the first time ever, I held the stack of paper and tore it right down the middle, finding the slice of ripping paper soothing to some degree. I repeated the process a few more times before shoving the giant confetti to the bottom of my backpack.

Feeling only a slight improvement to my mood, I grabbed my lunch and walked to the cafeteria. Edward, Alice, and Rose were the only ones there when I arrived. I slid into my seat, letting my lunch fall to the table. I could feel three sets of eyes burning into me, but I kept my head down.

"Bella?" Alice asked tentatively. "What's wrong?"

"Life's a whore," I grumbled, taking the biggest bite out of my sandwich that my mouth would allow.

Rose frowned before patting my hand. "No, it's a bitch. If it were a whore, it'd be easy," she gently corrected.

Alice snorted into her container of cold pasta. "How very true."

Rose tilted her head, regarding me for a few moments. "Aunt Flo and Uncle Tom visiting?"

Emmett and Jasper picked that moment to arrive. "Who's visiting Bella?" Emmett asked.

I chose to ignore Emmett, not wanting to answer _that_ question. I shook my head in response to what Rose asked. "Not yet, but they've already started their road trip," I elaborated with a groan. I folded my arms on the table and Alice and Rose gave me sympathetic pats on the back of my head.

Emmett seemed to disapprove of the fact all us girls were ignoring his question. "Dude, Edward, who the hell is visiting Bella?"

"I have no idea," Edward admitted.

Emmett repeated his question a few more times before getting fed up and yelled, "WHO IS VISITING BELLA?"

"Emmett," Rose barked. "Will you shut up?"

I felt my eyes widen as I looked up. For the past handful of days, Rose had been extremely short with Emmett, telling him to shut up and mind his own business more times than I had ever heard in the past. Now, Rose had her eyes narrowed into slits as she glared over the table at Emmett. Emmett, on the other hand, visibly shrunk. His shoulders slumped drastically and his facial features illustrated the definition of a forlorn expression.

"I just want to know what's going on," he murmured, not looking up from where his eyes rested on the plastic tabletop.

Rose let out a huff. "Mother nature is screwing Bella over."

"As in…" Emmett trailed off, shifting uncomfortably.

"Yes, Emmett. As in she'll get her period shortly," Rose snapped.

"ROSE," Alice and I yelled, catching the attention of numerous patrons from the surrounding tables.

I dropped my head to my hands and prayed to all things holy that I could just crawl into a corner, curl into a ball and have the ability to disappear from this world. I wasn't, however, so far lost in my personal black hole that I didn't notice the total silence that blanketed our table.

"Do you want me to buy you a chocolate bar?" Edward offered, breaking the highly uncomfortable silence after a few painfully long moments.

"No," I snapped. "Contrary to popular belief, chocolate doesn't solve everything." _Especially embarrassment._ But the more I thought about Edward's kind offer, the more appealing chocolate seemed. I peeked up at Edward through my eyelids. "Yeah, I want chocolate."

Edward stood up and cast a look over at Alice. "Yeah?" he asked, looking for clarification from a female.

She smiled. "Yes, she does indeed want chocolate."

After Edward left the table, the conversation at the table took a safe turn away from my personal dilemmas. He returned shortly after with a Twix, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, and a Snickers. "I didn't know which one you would have wanted," he apologized. "So I got you one of each."

"Any would have sufficed," I told him. "Thank you, Edward."

"Anytime, Bella," he told me gently, placing the three chocolate bars in front of me.

My lunch forgotten, I ripped open the golden wrapping surrounding the deliciousness that was a Twix bar. I spent the rest of lunch nibbling my way through the Twix and Snickers, listening to the conversations around me without really participating in them. I had to save my Reese's for later as it was time for Edward and me to leave.

Something felt different as Edward stood in front of his locker. My very first day of school, the only things Edward had hanging up in his locker were his football schedule and a picture of him, Emmett, Jasper, Rosalie and Alice. Now, there were two additions – both pictures that were taken the night of my birthday. The first was a dark picture taken late in the night by the fire. I remembered Edward was the photographer, and the moment captured was of me being held in a headlock from Jasper, and Rose with her hand raised in preparation to smack him in the back of the head. The second picture was the one Rose snapped after Edward's and my heart to heart. Rose had taken the picture on an angle so I was visible behind Edward. My face was hidden between his shoulder blades and my hair was in my face, but I was able to see a faint smile that I wasn't aware I had during that moment.

It was… well… cute. Like, really cute. As in I got all warm and fuzzy just from looking at it.

"How long have those been up there?" I asked, unable to take my eyes off the pictures.

"Hmmm?" Edward glanced at me over his shoulder before following my line of sight. A slow grin spread across his face. "The pictures? Only since this morning – Rose just put them up on Facebook last night and I printed them off when I got home."

I made a mental note to check Facebook when I got home later that night. I had a strong urge to print off some pictures for my own personal use. Maybe I'd put them up in my room since I would see them more often there verses if they were taped in my locker. Or maybe I'd even use them to start a scrapbook to go along with the one Jake got me.

"Bella?" Edward's voice broke through the aimless wondering of my mind. Something told me it wasn't the first time he called my name. "All set?"

I took one more glimpse at the pictures before nodding.

**~!~DBSYPWTBB~!~**

Math was by no means an improvement to my day. We learned something completely new and I couldn't understand it to save my life. Edward had cautiously offered to try and help me, but I flat out refused out of the reasonable fear I would snap at him.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled to Edward as we were working on our homework questions at the end of class.

"Huh?" Edward titled his head as he looked over at me. "Why?"

I shook my head. "I'm just sorry." _For everything imaginable._

He face clouded with a mystified expression. "O-okaaay?"

I returned to my work, butchering my way through a question that involved Brad, Latisha, Pablo, Helga, Geneviève and Kwan going to a hockey game where I had to find a) The probability that the first three to arrive are all boys, b) The probability that at least two of the first three people who arrive are girls, and c) The probability the six friends arrive in order of ascending age. I flipped to the back of the book to check my answer, frowning as I realized I was incorrect. I looked over my question, step by step, trying to find where I went wrong. I mentally smacked myself when I realized I made the stupidest mistake imaginable that caused me to mess up the whole problem.

I dug through my pencil case, attempting to find my trusty white eraser. Of course, I couldn't find it, making me come to the conclusion I lost it or forgot to put it back in my pencil case last night. I sighed as I twirled my pencil and used the eraser on the end. Erasers on pencils never last long enough, and once they're gone, every mistake on a paper mocks you.

I stopped erasing almost as soon as I started. My eyelids shut on their own accord and my head titled to the heavens.

Mother. Friggin'. Fudgecake.

My desk would decide that today of all days it wanted to have a gimpy leg so it could shake what its momma gave it. I brought in a deep lungful of air before sharply exhaling it through my mouth.

Edward peeked over at me from across the desk. "Bella?"

I didn't open my mouth, opting instead to simply grip the edge of my desk and give it a push, letting it shake obnoxiously on its own.

"We can fix this," Edward soothed, ripping a piece of lined paper from his binder and folding it up in a neat square. He ducked down, lifting the shortened leg of the desk and slid the folded paper in the empty space. "There we go. All good."

I reached across the desk to pat his hand. "Thank you."

He pulled his hand from under mine, lifting it to my shoulder and squeezed gently. "You're welcome."

I glanced behind me and caught Mike staring at Edward's hand that was still on my shoulder. I glared at him. _Go right ahead, Newton. Please, make my freakin' day._ His eyes widened ever so slightly as they met mine, and his mouth snapped shut. Huh, maybe he wasn't as big of an idiot as I originally thought.

**~!~DBSYPWTBB~!~**

"SHE'S A GIRL FOR GOODNESS SAKE!"

At that moment, I wanted – more than anything – to yell a simple, _No shit,_ across the field. This apparently didn't sit well at all with the other team's coach as this was the fifth derogatory comment aimed at me in the past six minutes… and that was just referring to the coach. Apparently my ability to kick several successful points after touchdown along with a field goal and decent kickoffs warranted the need for my gender to be screamed at to the other team.

The first few times didn't bug me that much, I mean, I _was_ somewhat used to it. Then the players on the other team started making subtle comments and going out of their way to bump into me as I made my way on and off the field.

In my mind, the scene of Sunshine's amazing hit from '_Remember the Titans'_ played on repeat. I wanted – more than anything – to have the ability to pull something like that off. Unfortunately, my life was one of reality as opposed to one of a cinematic adventure in which a miraculous thing of that caliber of awesomeness existed. Instead, I had to settle with fuming on the sidelines as I glared at the world.

By halftime, it took everything I possessed to not scream and make it all go away. Yeah, it was _that_ bad.

The team cluttered into the locker room, listening to Mr. Wilson's rant. "I gotta admit, deep down I'm kinda hoping we lose, because tonight we are providing the definition of not-giving-a-shit. I know I said this was most likely going to be an easy win, but I said that to a team that gave one hundred and ten percent every time we stepped onto the field. Hell, to be perfectly honest, Bella's the only one out there who looks like she _wants_ to play and _wants_ to win."

"Coach, no offense… and no offense to Bella either," Nathanial started, shooting me an apologetic glance, "but she's barely on the field. She kicks and doesn't really have to deal with the opposing team, whether it be avoiding getting tackled or having to do the tackling."

Mr. Wilson shrugged. "Regardless, she still has the passion and desire to win etched in her face. Need I remind you we're going to be going into the second half of the game with the score tied when we should be up by at least two touchdowns?"

"We're still playing well, coach," Austin defended. "A bit sloppier than usual, but we're playing fine and will still win even if we don't play with the amount of intensity as we normally do. Besides, it's kinda hard to 'bring it' when you're playing a weak opponent."

Mr. Wilson didn't even blink. "Well, maybe it's time you guys learned to play like a girl."

A few guys snorted. "Yeah, like _that's_ going to help us," Travis snickered.

"Oh, grow up and grow some balls while you're at it," I muttered. _Well… goodbye filter. _Apparently I was much louder than I thought I was. The room fell quiet and all eyes were trained on me, making me shift uncomfortably. "Honestly, though, the whole 'girl' thing is getting pretty old. The season is almost done and you guys only seem to care about my gender on game days because you all seem to be fine with it during practice."

"That's actually a fair point," Tyler muttered. However, not a lot of the other guys agreed with him.

By the time the third quarter started, I couldn't wait to kick something. I figured it would be in my best interest to opt for kicking the football seeing as I really couldn't kick anything else without getting in trouble or looking like a raging lunatic. And as selfish as it sounded, I really just wanted to talk to Edward. I wanted him to hug me and tell me it would all be okay. I knew that couldn't happen though.

I made my way onto the field after Tyler managed to catch the ball with an epic dive in the end zone. My kick was good, as all of them had been so far, but the play wasn't finished as an opponent had gotten past my line of defense, including Edward. He was slightly scrawny, but on the tall side. I didn't care, though, as I grabbed his jersey tightly, gripping some of the equipment underneath. I used his momentum to my advantage - turning him before using all the strength I possessed to whip him toward the ground.

He wasn't expecting me to do anything - that much was obvious. He didn't even try to stop himself as he tumbled to the grassy earth below. In return, I had to brace my hands on the ground so I wouldn't lay sprawled on the ground beside him.

Man, did that feel good. I didn't know if it was all the bench pressing Emmett made me do, or the result of all the hormones running through my system, but I felt like a powerful little lady.

"Nice hit, Butch."

_Seriously?_

My feet, of their own accord, turned me around and moved me toward the loose-mouthed idiot clad in a blood red jersey. He stood in place - his steely grey eyes regarded me from under his helmet.

I yanked my mouth-guard out. "Wanna run that by me again?"

In a few steps, I would have been chest to chest with him, if not for the steel beam that was Emmett's arm snaring me around the waist and dragging me away.

"Not worth it," Emmett murmured. "Totally not worth it."

I didn't care if it wasn't worth it… I was seething. I tied to pull against his arm, wanting to be released. Instead, Emmett tightened his hold. "Emmett… I swear… let me go," I growled through clenched teeth

A mocking clap echoed behind us. "Yes, please do let her go. I'm sure this could be quite interesting."

Emmett ignored the grey-eyed moron and kept his pace.

Now the voice behind us was louder so that everyone on the field could hear. "No matter. It's not like she belongs here anyways!"

Before I knew it, Emmett's arm had disappeared from around me and he was stalking his way back across the field.

Mother Nature showed her only shred of kindness to me as she passed me a pair of boxing gloves with a smile and a, _Go get 'em, girl._

I would have followed in Emmett's footsteps – literally - with all guns blazing had Edward not taken it upon himself to finish the job Emmett started. He wrapped his arms securely around me, holding me tight against his chest. He began dragging me away as I stubbornly dug my feet in the ground.

"You're pissed, I get it, but you can't be letting your emotions get the best of you right now," he reasoned, trying to calm me.

_Did he really get it though?_

"Did you even hear what he said?" I seethed. I could see my equipment-clad chest rise and fall viciously.

"Well…no…but…" he trailed off.

_No, he didn't get it._

I wiggled out of his grasp and walked to where I was needed on the field to execute my duty of performing the kick off.

I watched the ball sail through that air after my foot connected with it. As the kicker, I was supposed to hang back and be the last line of defense, but after watching the first few people execute half-assed attempts to tackle our opponent with the ball, I decided to step in. It's just like the saying goes: never send a man to do a woman's job. With that in mind, I charged down the field.

I could hear Mr. Wilson yell my name. Even though I knew he was on the sidelines, it sounded like he was right there, running next to me. Boy, was I gunna be in trouble once I got off the field. Though, the more I thought about it I realized I really couldn't care less. I was a raging woman with PMS. Getting yelled at by my coach was the least of my problems at this point. I crossed the space of no man's land and entered the combat zone filled with clashing equipment and falling bodies. I rushed toward the opponent who was ducking and dodging his way down the field with the ball. Pierre reached him before I did, managing to get one hand on him that threw him off balance. I figured I'd be ever so kind and help Pierre out, throwing all my weight on the ball carrier and tumbling with him to the ground.

I pushed myself up, meeting the gaze of the grey-eyed guy still on his back in the grass. A laugh bubbled out of me before I could stop myself. I shook my head. "Karma's a bitch, isn't she?" I smirked, walking away with additional sass in my step. However, every step I took closer to the edge of the field, the angrier I got. All my pent up frustration from halftime came flooding back, replacing the adrenaline that had coursed through my body.

"Bella," I heard Pierre call from a few steps behind me just as I reached the chalky white line in the grass.

I pretended not to hear him, wanting to deal with a lingering issue first. I ripped my helmet from my head and tossed it unceremoniously on the tattered ground. I spun to face the group of guys looking at me. "That's how you play like a girl," I spat out, turning and walking away once more. I wasn't aware of anyone trailing after me until a strong arm gripped my elbows, pulling me to a standstill.

"Whoa, Bella," Ben pacified, turning me to face him. "That was unexpected yet amazing at the same time." I figured he was talking about the two tackles.

I tried to give him a smile, I really did, but the permanent frown engraved on my face refused to flip one hundred eighty degrees.

"You gotta calm down, Bella," Ben said with a sigh, letting go of my arm. "You're scaring some of the guys."

"Oh, of course that would be a bad thing," I spat out, no room for anything but sarcasm in my voice. Even though Ben did nothing to deserve it, I couldn't help but lash out.

He held my eyes, seeming unfazed. "It is when you look ready to murder someone."

I was silent for a beat. "It's a tempting thought now that you mention it."

He tilted his head, regarding me with eyes that seemed too wise for his age. "What has gotten into you?" He was more so musing aloud than asking me, but that didn't stop me from folding my arms across my chest and cocking an eyebrow at him. "Oh cr-crap," he stuttered. "That didn't come out right."

I opened my mouth to respond with something that would no doubt be full of snark, but I stopped myself, biting my tongue so hard I winced in pain. "I know… I'm sorry," I apologized.

"Bella," a deep voice called. I looked over Ben's shoulder to find Mr. Wilson making his way over to me, his expression concealed behind an emotionless mask. He didn't care we had an audience composed of nearby athletes, including Ben. "You know that was absolutely stupid."

I nodded as my eyes flicked to the ground. "I know." I suddenly felt so small and almost as if I was a young child about to get in trouble for breaking my mom's priceless crystal vase.

"You also know that doing stuff like that comes with consequences," he continued. I looked up and couldn't help noticing how his eye shone with disappointment.

It was in that moment that I felt like the biggest failure… letting down both my team and coach. I let my shoulders sag and allowed my gaze to fall to the ground once again.

This time when Mr. Wilson spoke, he was much quieter, talking so soft only he and I could hear. "I don't want to punish you, Bella. You haven't been yourself all day… I see that… I get that… but the fact that you still did _that_ remains."

"Then treat me like everyone else," I told him in total honesty. "Make me run during our next practice. I disobeyed and I gave you attitude." I pointed to myself. "Guilty."

Mr. Wilson was clearly debating with himself. "You're right," he finally said. He didn't say anything else as he made his way back to the edge of the field.

The game finished with us winning by only a single touchdown. After a brief meeting with the team in the guys' locker room, I made my way across the hall, my cleats clicking ominously every step. I took my time changing. I debated walking through the school and leaving through another door to avoid everyone outside. I decided against it, wanting to at lest give Alice and Rose an explanation. I found them leaning against the brick wall of the side on the school, noting it had begun spitting. Big surprise.

"There you are! You took longer than usual today," Alice commented. She took one glance at my face and whatever she found there made her frown.

"I'm going to walk home," I told them, my voice flat. I glanced up at the sky and zipped my jacket up all the way.

Rose shook her head, folding her arms in front of her. "Don't be ridiculous, Bella."

"Trust me. I _need_ to walk home," I implored.

Rose and Alice cast a look at one another before nodding. "One condition. You text one of us as soon as you get home and if we don't hear from you within a half hour, we're going to come find you."

"Fair enough," I agreed. "I'll see you both tomorrow." Just as I turned to start walking, Emmett joined us. It didn't take him long to realize I wasn't staying.

"Where in the world are you going?" he exclaimed.

"Home," I replied without looking back.

"Aw, don't be a party pooper," he called, slightly louder and sounding mildly upset.

"Em, don't," Rose snapped. Her tone was unnecessarily harsh. "Let her be."

The rain poured harder and I pulled my hood up in defense against it. I was a few strides past the parking lot when a soft tap on my shoulder caused me to stop. At first glance I didn't recognize him at all, but after a moment I recognized his grey eyes as the ones I saw twice on the field. He was dressed in a simple black jacket and his blond hair was matted on his forehead.

"May I help you?" My politeness won over the urge to kick him repeatedly in the shin.

"Look, I just want to apologize for what I said," he exhaled in a rush, his breath visible in the cold air.

I shook my head. "Believe it or not, you're not the first one to make snide comments to me on the field. I'm used to it. Don't apologize if you meant what you said."

It was his turn to shake his head. "See, but that's the thing. I didn't mean what I said. I didn't mean any of it."

I tucked my hand in my pockets, regretting not having any gloves. "So you said them because…" I prompted.

He shrugged, looking shy all of a sudden. "I'm the captain. I have a certain role to fill and, believe it or not, it was a form of strategy."

"No offense, but that's one of the dumbest things I've heard."

He let out a nervous chuckle. "Trust me, I'll understand if you're pissed of at me. But in reality, I think it's cool you're playing," he admitted, looking down at his shoes.

"Cool?" I repeated. _Well that's a first._

"Yeah. Kind of scary… and sexy… but cool."

"Scary and sexy," I mused aloud, wondering how exactly they worked together.

"Well, more so intimidating than scary." His eyes widened in response to my facial expressions as I tried to work out how intimidating and sexy pieced together. "No no no, not in a bad way," he tried to clarify, waving his arms in front of him.

"Garrett, let's go," a voice hollered from a distance.

"Give me a minute," Garrett yelled in response before turning his attention back to me. "I'll be cheering for you. I really did mean it when I said it was cool you were playing." He held his hand out in front of him. "It was nice talking to you, er…"

I put my hand in his, giving it a shake. "Bella," I supplied for him. "And thanks. Believe it or not, it was really nice to hear that." I removed my hand from his and stuffed it back into my pocket. "Bye."

By the time I made it to my street, my feet were soaked and frozen, making me admittedly grumpy and irritable. I pulled out my phone to text Rose and Alice. I flipped it open only to find I had a new text from Edward. With only three minutes left in my allotted time frame, I chose to view it later and typed a quick, **I'm home** to both Alice and Rose.

I started digging for my keys in my backpack before remembering Renee would be home. I jogged up the driveway to the porch and pushed the door open.

"Bella! Did you walk home?" Renee asked from her spot on the couch before I had even shut the front door.

_No, I just decided to jump in fifteen huge puddles located between the driveway and the front door._ "Yes."

She placed her cup of tea on the coffee table. "No one drove you, honey?"

I fought my way out of my sopping shoes. "No."

She frowned. "Didn't you ask anyone to?"

I shrugged out of my coat before responding. "No."

"Were you aware it was raining when you chose not to ask?"

"Yes."

Renee finally got off the couch. She stood in font of me and cradled my face in her warm hands. The look on her face was one I saw many times growing up. One filled with worry and concern. "Oh, what's wrong, baby girl? You seemed fine when you left the house this morning and you played excellently during your game."

I wrapped my arms around her small waist and took comfort in her rose and honey scent. I said nothing, dropping my head to her shoulder.

"Oh, Sweetie," she cooed, wrapping her arms around me and clutching me tight, not caring that I was damp and smelled like sweat and old football equipment. She didn't press for details; she only held me until I moved first.

"Now, you go shower. I'll make you a cup of hot chocolate and we can talk if you want. If you don't want to we can watch bad TV together, okay?"

I nodded and gave her one of my few genuine smiles of the day. I trudged up the stairs, taking a detour to my room to deposit my backpack on my floor before heading to the bathroom. I let my water drenched clothes drop to the floor, and cranked the hot water. I waited until steam emerged from above the curtain before stepping in. I slowly let my body sink to the tiled floor, allowing myself to sit there and think for a few minutes.

I vowed the next day I'd be better, no matter what. I didn't want to experience another day like this for a long time. These kinds of days exhausted me and left me feeling terrible and worthless.

By the time I was freshly showered and changed, I remembered the unopened text from Edward. I grabbed my phone and flopped on my bed, opening the message.

**Bella, what's wrong? You know I'm here if you need to talk. I'm just a text away.**

I felt tears well up, clouding my vision. I fought them down, refusing to let them fall. I wasn't going to let my emotions get the better of me anymore today. As badly as I wanted nothing more then to just talk to Edward and let it all out earlier, now I couldn't even think of subjecting Edward to my insignificant problems.

For the first time since I had met Edward, I ignored his text. Instead, I left my phone in my room and made my way back downstairs where my mom, bad TV and some warm hot chocolate awaited me.

* * *

**SNEAK PEEK- Chapter Eleven**

"So what's this big emergency," I asked as I climbed into the car, noting the plastic bag with pints of Ben and Jerry's ice cream.

Alice cleared her throat. "Well, we need to go over to Rose's house," she whispered.

I glanced back down at the bag of ice cream then up at Alice's expression, putting the pieces together. "Oh no."

* * *

**So, not exactly the happiest chapter for the holidays but I hope you still enjoyed!**

***If you want to see Sunshine's hit from Remember the Titans there's a link on my profile. (Go to 4:00)  
**


	11. What the Hell

Dear Bella Swan, you're Playing with the Big Boys

**Disclaimer- As always, I don't own Twilight **

**Thank you for the response to the last chapter. You guys are awesome and thank you for sticking with me.**

**This chapter contains underage drinking. Just letting you know incase anyone is against/takes offense to it at all.**

**This chapter has been edited by Edwardsfavoritebrunette and My-Heart-Of-Music. I honestly don't know where I'd be without them.  
**

Chapter 11: What the Hell

_By the time I was freshly showered and changed, I remembered the unopened text from Edward. I grabbed my phone and flopped on my bed, opening the message._

_**Bella, what's wrong? You know I'm here if you need to talk. I'm just a text away.**_

_I felt tears well up, clouding my vision. I fought them down, refusing to let them fall. I wasn't going to let my emotions get the better of me anymore today. As badly as I wanted nothing more then to just talk to Edward and let it all out earlier, now I couldn't even think of subjecting Edward to my insignificant problems._

_For the first time since I had met Edward, I ignored his text. Instead, I left my phone in my room and made my way back downstairs where my mom, bad TV and some warm hot chocolate awaited me. _

Renee was already sitting on the couch, watching one of the many CSI-esque spinoff shows on TV. Two mugs filled to the brim with a mixture of hot chocolate and marshmallows sat steaming on the coffee table. I didn't hesitate as I walked over to where Renee sat, sinking into the couch next to her.

My chin was propped on my knees during the times I wasn't willing to let my hot chocolate scald the back of my throat and burn away my taste buds. Renee absentmindedly ran her fingers through my damp hair, humming quietly just like she always did when I was a child.

Emotions hit me at a whirlwind. I felt as though I had spent my day sitting atop a dunk tank, and someone had finally hit the bull's eye, sending me careening into the frigid water and trapping me under the surface.

Attempting to blink back my tears was useless, so I opted for letting the moisture be collected by my cotton sweatpants. My tears were silent and didn't fall on Renee at all, but her mother's intuition must have picked up on the fact that something wasn't right. She turned the volume on the TV down a few notches and wrapped her arms around me.

I plastered a smile on my face and glanced up at her. "I'm okay."

"You're crying…"

"It's okay to cry," I argued, using the back of my hand to wipe my cheeks. It was a vain attempt as more tears took turns streaming down my face.

"It's also alright to admit you aren't okay." She frowned and grabbed my hand in hers. "What's wrong, sweetheart?"

I shook my head and buried my face in my free hand. "I feel like I've been a bitch all day."

"Well, why do you think that?"

I curled into her side and told her almost everything that had happened since I had woken up that morning, editing some parts along the way. Talking with Renee took a lot longer than I expected, as my foot had sufficiently fallen asleep since it was pinned under my leg for the duration of our conversation.

"Try to go to bed early. Lord knows you're a night owl like your father, but just try to get some extra sleep."

I wasn't tired, but I took that as my cue. I gave Renee a hug before I stood on my stiff legs, grabbed both of our empty mugs and placed them in the kitchen. I made my way upstairs, taking longer than expected as my foot felt more like a stump as it waited for the blood to return to it. I managed to grab my toothbrush from the bathroom before I entered my room. I turned on my computer as I remembered the pictures in Edward's locker. I brushed my teeth as I let the computer hum to life, cringing as I heard the internal whirling and groaning of the ancient desktop.

I logged onto Facebook and found that I had a fair amount of notifications. They were all from people who commented or liked a picture of me. I clicked, and before the page even loaded, I knew that it was going to be the picture of Edward and me displayed on the screen. Thirteen people had liked the picture already, and I hovered my mouse for a second before clicking to make it an even fourteen. I read through the comments, most of which stated how cute we looked and some even asking why we weren't dating yet. Minimal creeping antics revealed this was also Edward's profile picture.

I flushed despite the fact that I was sitting alone in my room. I sifted through all one hundred ninety-three pictures Rose uploaded, printing out a dozen or so to put up in my room and making duplicates of the few I planned to put in my locker.

I knew that sleep wouldn't come to me anytime soon. I settled for listening to my iPod with the volume cranked up, hoping to block everything out. The King of Pop serenaded me through tiny purple ear buds as I flipped aimlessly through one of my textbooks.

My phone lit up from its spot on the table beside my bed.

**Come to your window**

I had to reread the text a few times to make sure I was reading it correctly. I glanced out my window, seeing nothing but blackness. I unlocked it and tried to open it, but it resisted. When I finally managed to open the window, I was greeted with a blast of cold air. I stuck my head out, this time finding Edward standing with his hands in his pockets.

"Can we talk?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Just give me a sec."

I slid the window shut. I glanced down at my sweatpants and tank top clad figure before searching blindly for a sweater of some kind.

By the time I finished my Olympic gold medalist worthy sprint down the stairs, Renee was already standing next to the open front door. She looked between Edward and me a few times before slowly making her way up the stairs.

"Goodnight, kids."

Each of us responded in kind before situating ourselves on the couch.

"So… to what do I owe this pleasure?" I asked, sick of the silence surrounding us.

Edward raked his hands through his hair a few times before roughly scrubbing his face. He was perched on the edge of the cushion, and his leg was going for the World Record of number of bounces in a minute. "I couldn't sleep. I wanted… er… needed to talk to you."

"I worked that much out for myself. How'd you know I was even up?"

Edward finally stopped with the leg bouncing. "A light was on in your bedroom. I know how much you hate wasting electricity so I knew your light had to be on for a reason. I did have to start questioning my theory when you didn't automatically come to your window after I threw some pinecones at it, so I decided to go the simple route and text you."

I found myself nodding before I stopped myself. "Wait. Back up. Pinecones?"

Edward ducked his head before giving me a sheepish grin. "Well it was that or rocks, and I didn't think you'd appreciate a broken window."

I smiled and had to bite back my laughter. "I see. So, what do you want to talk to me about?"

Edward leaned into the back of the couch and looped his arm around my back. I let my body lean on its own accord, resting my forehead against his strong shoulder.

"What happened on the field? What did that guy even say? I've been trying to figure it out all night, but I just keep coming up blank."

I felt my face fall. "It doesn't matter," I mumbled, my voice distorted from my mouth being against the sleeve of his sweater.

"Obviously it does if you're still upset about it."

"I'm not upset about it." I didn't even believe myself.

Edward gently pulled my head away from his arm. "Bella…"

I sighed. "It's stupid."

"Please."

I stayed quiet for a while, collecting my thoughts. I had done my best to keep these memories locked up in a dark, dusty part of my mind.

"One of the reasons why I was so eager to leave Phoenix was because of the rumors about me since middle school."

"What rumors?"

I glanced down at my hands and started picking at my nails. "They started in sixth grade when a girl named Tanya stuck bubble gum in my hair. I couldn't get it out so my mom had to cut my hair so short that it was barely past my ears." I played with the ends of my hair, lost in my memory. "It didn't help that I only wore baggy clothing because I wasn't comfortable with my own body. I used them to hide my lack of curves and hide the fact that I had the smallest cup size in the class." I glanced down at my chest, encased in a sweater. "Not that _that's_ changed much."

"Bel -," Edward began before I raised my hand to stop him. If I was going to tell this story, I was going to tell _all_ of it.

"In high school in Phoenix I never 'hooked up' with people, so to speak. I was the shy quiet one who chose to stay home versus partying. I never really dated anyone. I don't know if I was just too picky or what, but if I knew things weren't going to work out with a guy, I would bail as my 'friends' called it. Hell, the only person I have ever kissed was during a game of Truth or Dare in ninth grade_._ It was a boy named Paul who took the terms band geek and hyperactive salivary glands to a whole new level.

"So, two girls who loved causing unnecessary drama and shit decided to start a rumor about me. Lo and behold, the girls were Tanya – the girl who put gum in my hair, and her best friend Jane." I shut my eyes as the images of Tanya's glee at her makeshift drama bombarded my memories. I could picture the smug smile she wore for weeks because she knew I wouldn't confront her or do anything about it. Everyone knew it was all a big rumor, but no one tried to stop Tanya and Jane from teasing me every time I passed them in the halls.

I pulled on the ends of my hair, internally chuckling as I realized talking about this with Edward made my habit surface. For years I had fallen into the habit of pulling on my hair, willing it to grow faster.

"Bella, I don't -"

I finally opened my eyes only to find confusion clouding Edward's face. "He said 'Nice hit, Butch'. I think you can piece it all together."

Edward was silent for a bit before shaking his head. "I still don't get it," he said softly.

"Butch… masculine female…" I prompted.

Edward shook his head again.

I huffed, blowing a stray piece of hair from my face. "They made up a rumor that I was gay."

Edward's eyes went wide. "What the hell?"

I shrugged, unable to say anything.

"Bella! Are you telling me you're letting what some attention-loving drama queens said get to you for years?"

I used my hands to gesture at myself. "Clearly."

"Why?" Edward actually sounded angry.

"I don't know! I'm _sick _of feeling like this, but I hear their words echoing in my head every damn day, Edward. I try to ignore it and put it all behind me, but it's a hell of a lot harder than that.

"Like, it bothers me, but it doesn't. I don't care about what they said. What gets me is how smug and happy they were when they were under the impression that a stupid little rumor was going to ruin my life." I finally looked him in the eye. "Does that make sense?"

Edward nodded. "A bit. Yeah."

"And now, everyday the thought that I'm going to be a crazy cat lady when I'm older flickers in my mind." I let out a bitter laugh. "Even though I'm allergic, that's what I -"

I was cut off as Edward captured my mouth with his, effectively stopping whatever words I had planned on saying. Firm but gentle, his hand wove into my hair, holding me in place. The other reached up, cupping my jaw and tilting my head upwards. A sigh slipped from my mouth, only to be captured by his. It felt as if a lifetime had passed in the span of one simple kiss. I was the one to pull away for air first. I felt almost comical as I lifted my hand to my lips - the sensation caused by Edward's lips still lingering on mine.

"'Not that I'm complaining… at all… but what brought that on?" I squeezed my eyes shut. _Oh God… foot, please meet mouth._

Edward didn't respond right away, but he was evidently amused as his face broke into a grin. He glanced down at my lips and took his time tracing the line of my jaw. "I've wanted to for a long time."

All I could do was nod like a bobble head before I managed to squeak out a tiny, "okay".

We were silent for all of two seconds before Edward burst out laughing, covering his mouth to try and silence the sound.

"What?" I asked, feeling suddenly self-cautious. Was there something in my teeth? Could he see the mountain of a zit on my forehead?

Edward shook his head, still laughing. "Nothing. You're just adorable."

I tried to give him a fearless thank-you smile, but had to settle for an awkward facial twitch.

Edward sighed, all traces of humor gone from his face. "Promise me. Promise me you won't keep your emotions bottled up. Promise me you'll talk to someone if something is bothering you."

What he was asking me to do was hard for me to promise. It was the complete opposite of what I had been doing for the past eighteen years, so I settled for a compromise.

"I promise to try."

He grinned. "I'll take what I can get."

Edward wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into his chest, tucking my head under his chin. I felt his lips press against the top of my head, and I melted further into him.

It was quiet for a while, but the silence didn't bother me. It was a comfortable silence - one where we didn't feel obligated to fill the space with words. I let Edward's warmth surround me and let my mind wander.

"Let it all out," Edward whispered after awhile.

I titled my head to look back at him. "What?"

"Tell me what bugs you, or triggers stuff like this… anything."

"But… why?"

He tightened his hold on me. "Because I don't want a repeat of tonight. If you're upset, I want to know what possibly caused it."

I shut my eyes and rubbed my temples. "It's not that simple, Edward."

"I know that. But it might help make things a bit easier."

After a few long moments I sighed. "Okay."

We spent the next hour or so talking – me more so than him. I alternated between tracing the lines of Edward's palms and using the tip of my finger to trace random designs on his forearms. He didn't try to make me look at him; it was almost as if he knew I couldn't.

Eventually I brought up the big question that had been prodding my mind ever since we kissed. "So… what exactly are we going to tell the others?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know," I said, feeling childish as I gestured between us with my hand to finish the sentence.

Edward shrugged. "Up to you."

I turned to glare at him. "Don't make me decide!"

We bickered… well, more so tried to put the responsibility of making a decision on the other person for a few minutes.

"Well, what _is_ this between us?" I asked. I knew it wasn't like we were boyfriend and girlfriend, but we weren't _just friends_ anymore. Were we dating? Were we in the pre-dating stage?

"Whatever you want it to be."

I resisted the urge to smack him. I didn't want the responsibility of making decision… especially _this_ one.

"How 'bout we don't say anything, and just let things… go as they may. Once we actually put a label or whatever on this, we'll tell 'em." I finally proposed, tired of just running around in circles.

"That works," Edward agreed, moments before he bent down and placed a sweet kiss on my lips. It was just a peck – not like he dipped me on a balcony bathed in moonlight while a harp played in the background – but I found it beautiful nonetheless. We were both grinning when he pulled away.

"So what are you doing on Saturday?"

**~!~DBSYPWTBB~!~**

As the following days flew by, no one asked or even hinted at anything between Edward and me. I don't know why I expected anyone to, though. It wasn't like we had spontaneous make out sessions in the middle of the hall, or even held hands when we were side-by-side. It wasn't like we were ignoring what happened the night before. We were both well aware of what had happened – we were just keeping that knowledge to ourselves.

Charlie had come home on the Thursday without a big fanfare. It was really awkward at the house with Charlie and Renee at first. I could only imagine how the car ride back to Forks went since Renee was the one who insisted on picking Charlie up from the hospital.

Friday involved the entire senior class looking at the clock and waiting for the final bell to ring. Not only was it the nicest day Forks had seen in two weeks; it was also Angela's birthday. I wasn't able to celebrate as much as the others when the bell finally rang though, as football practice awaited me as usual.

After the surprisingly easy practice finished, I encouraged Emmett to speed so I could hopefully fit in a power nap before I had to get ready for Angela's party. With a nap and lengthy shower in mind, I planned to dress in my usual attire with a dash of make-up - very casual and nothing too extravagant. However, when the time to get ready actually came around, I had a hard time trying to convince myself that the reason for the hour and a half I spent in front of the mirror doing my hair and make-up didn't have anything to do with Edward. Nor did he have any influence on the clothes I picked out. The only reason why I was wearing the top my mother got me for Christmas a year ago for the first time was because I now had the perfect opportunity to wear it… not because I was trying to impress him or something.

I took one glance at my clock before I grabbed a cardigan from my closet, pulling it on top of my white, one shoulder top as I raced down the stairs. Jasper wasn't much of a drinker, so he was our designated driver for the evening, and he would be picking me up any minute.

Renee took in my smoky eyes and tousled hair with an eyebrow raise that was closely followed by a grin. She opted to sip her steaming cup of tea instead of saying something like I knew she wanted to.

I was slipping on my flats when I heard Jasper's van turning into the gravel driveway.

"Bella," Charlie called before I was able to open the door.

"Yeah?"

He looked at me from his spot on the couch. "If you drink, be safe."

Was the police chief basically telling me that I could drink underage? Well, I'll be damned.

"I know, dad," I said. "And let me guess… no talking or looking at boys?"

Charlie grunted. "Bella, what kind of father do you think I am? You can talk and look at boys…"

I raised my eyebrows.

"… just make sure there's a minimum of fifteen feet between you."

I grinned. There was the Charlie I knew and loved.

"Love you both," I called as I finally made my way out the door.

I hurried to Jasper's van, noting I was the last one to be picked up. Rose and Alice complimented me from their spots and Edward grinned at me in greeting from the backseat. Emmett wasn't getting picked up since he had to work late, plus he lived half a block from Angela and promised us he'd meet us there.

The drive was quick, as were all drives from point A to point B anywhere in Forks. Jasper parallel parked a few houses down from the Webers', and we all clambered out. I got my first head-to-toe glance at Rose and Alice, and was overjoyed when I realized I wasn't over-dressed at all.

When we got to the porch, Edward pushed open the door and a whoosh of warm air, blasting music, and Ben's smiling face greeted us. Ben was standing next to a small table that supported a jar filled with keys. He greeted us with hugs and handshakes before asking Jasper for his keys, dropping them in the jar with the others. Angela wasn't far from Ben. We exchanged hugs and I wished her a happy birthday before I set off to say my greetings to those already at the party.

I found Pierre, or rather, he found me as soon as I broke away from the group. He was well on his way to Happyville as he yelled my name and encased me in a sloppy hug. He walked with me to the living room where the bulk of the party was clustered. The majority of people were sitting on the carpeted floor or standing against the wall. There were couches set up in the middle of the room that had a few empty seats.

Edward saw me head over and patted the empty seat beside him. Pierre clearly thought that was an invitation for him as he flung himself into the seat and started talking to Edward. I took the seat across from Edward, next to Ben, and did a quick survey of the room, noting that Rose was nowhere in sight.

The drinks were flowing and everything seemed to being going smoothly. Of course, that was until Royce stumbled in and took the last empty chair between Alice and Angela, both of whom scooted closer to their boyfriends, trying to create as much personal space as they could.

I found it quite comical that everyone in the room found a way to interrupt Royce, or talk over him whenever he opened his mouth. And here I thought I just had a biased hatred for him. Sometimes the truth was a beautiful thing. Royce didn't seem to notice everyone's efforts of shutting him up. After a while he just sat quietly with a dopey smile, nodding here and there in regards to the conversations going on around him.

Rose finally appeared after being who-knows-where, holding two plastic cups. Clearly someone planned on getting crunk in a short amount of time.

"Sit with me!" Royce encouraged, patting his lap way too enthusiastically for my liking.

Rose didn't hesitate as she clumsily clambered over, stumbling over feet as she went. At the last minute, Alice slid onto Jasper and pulled Rose so she landed on the couch instead of Royce's lap. It really wasn't the optimal situation, but it was better than the alternative.

I scanned the room, cursing under my breath as I realized Emmett still hadn't arrived.

Royce served as Rose's butler as he would refill her cups every time they were dangerously close to the bottom. Jasper had tried to caution Rose once, but she just snapped and guzzled both drinks down. No one had said anything since, but we were all keeping an eye on her.

At one point, Rose rested a hand on Royce's knee as they talked. Alice and I shared a look before rolling our eyes. We were done trying to talk sense into Rose about Royce. The only reason I wasn't totally mad at her was because she was the first one who noticed when Emmett arrived.

"EMMY!" Rose called, standing up so fast she swayed a bit before launching herself into Emmett's arms. "I love you. Sooooooo so so much. Like, a lot. Like my heart would burst if I loved you any more."

She attacked Emmett's mouth with so much force he had to physically pull her away. He held her face still as he placed a peck on her lips before tucking her under his arms.

Emmett turned to Jasper. "How much has she had to drink?"

"She'll be best friends with the toilet before the night's done."

Emmett grimaced before returning his attention to Rose.

"You doin' okay, Rosie?"

Rose's eyes went wide. "I'm doing wonderful."

"Yeah… you're only drinking water for the rest of the night."

"Okay," she said. "Do you want a beer though?"

Emmett nodded and Rose spun to face her obedient puppy.

"Royce! Beer run for everyone!"

Royce stood without hesitation, giving Rose a wink before turning all macho on Emmett, glaring as he passed. It was quite scary how quick Royce could change from carefree to ill-tempered, his eyes ablaze with hatred.

Emmett sat, and Rose happily followed, wrapping her arms around his neck and leaving Royce's spot vacant. Royce returned with a tray, handing a plastic cup to everyone before passing one to Emmett with a forced smile. He tried to give one to Rose before Emmett grabbed it and put it on the floor.

Royce sat and immediately drew Rose into a conversation. Even though Rose was sitting on Emmett, she spent more time talking to Royce. So much, that it appeared that the two of them were in their own little bubble and Emmett was merely Rose's chair – not her boyfriend. It was obvious Emmett was watching their interaction from the corner of his eye, but he wasn't saying anything.

Soon my stomach started rumbling with hunger, so after I drained my cup, I used Ben's shoulder to hoist myself up. I made my way to the kitchen and claimed a bowl of chips as my own, smacking away any hands that came within a six-inch radius. Except for Angela, 'cause she was the birthday girl and deserved all the chips she wanted.

I started talking with Austin, and Nathaniel soon joined us. It didn't take long before our light conversations turned into us seriously deciphering the lyrics of the songs that played, and Nathaniel trying his hand at interpretive dancing. It wasn't pretty, but it was highly entertaining.

I saw Tyler enter the kitchen and head straight to the key jar on the counter. I was one hundred percent sure he was drunk and ninety-three percent sure he was trying to find his keys to drive home. Jessica appeared at his side before I even had a chance to take even one step towards him. I strained to hear their hushed words; curiosity getting the best of me. I really couldn't hear what they were saying, but from how Tyler was holding his newly found keys high in the air with Jessica desperately trying to grab them, I figured she was trying to convince him not to drive.

Just as I returned my attention to my bowl of chips, having given up hope in hearing anything, they stopped whispering.

"Tyler, I'm serious! Please just put them back," Jessica begged. "You'll get into another crash if you try to drive."

"Kiss me."

I handed the half empty bowl over to Austin who had been trying to sneak chips for the last few minutes. I had a feeling things were about to get good.

"Tyler!" Jessica glanced around. "We aren't alone."

"So? Kiss me, and I'll put my keys back."

Jessica's gaze flickered between Tyler and his keys a few times before she gave him a peck on the cheek. Tyler rolled his eyes and before she could get too far, pulled her in for a long but moderately quick kiss. When they pulled apart, it was Jessica who guided Tyler back to her mouth.

Everyone in viewing range fell silent. Tyler and Lauren were dating – well, possibly not after this – and it was well known that Jessica and Mike had a bit of a thing.

Just as I thought that, Mike made his way into the kitchen.

"Why's it so quiet in here?" he asked, looking around and spotting Jessica and Tyler near the counter. "What the hell?"

Fearing World War III may be in the near future, I returned to the living room where I managed to catch the sight of Rose struggling to put her jacket on before rushing out the door after a slouched Emmett.

Um. What the hell?

Pierre appeared and sloppily flung his arm around my waist. It was a strangely intimate gesture for the level of our friendship, and it felt extremely awkward. Luckily the feeling didn't last too long as Connor called Pierre over, mumbling something about a stupid shower curtain.

A pair of arms wrapped around my shoulders from behind. As creepy as it sounded, I knew they were Edward's because of the faint trace of delicious cologne I could smell coming from behind me.

"Have I told you that you look very pretty tonight?" He asked, placing a loud kiss on the back of my head.

I smiled. "A few times." Actually, he had texted it to me about every forty-five minutes.

In his drunken state, Edward tried to sway us to the music, but it ended up as him just jerking me side to side, giving me a mild form of whiplash.

"Come with me."

His warm hand encased mine, pulling me gently. He led me through the kitchen where there was no sight of Tyler, Mike or Jessica, and pulled me out the side doors. We walked a few steps before stopping.

"You're so pretty tonight," Edward said softly.

"Thanks. You're quite dashing yourself."

"Dashing, huh?" Edward repeated, tugging me closer by my belt loops. His lips curved into a hint of a smile, and despite the temperature, I warmed in a lot of places. In fact, I was feeling dangerously close to feverish.

Edward's muscled arm circled my waist. He drew me to him, and I didn't resist. He backed me up against the brick exterior of the house, pinning me closer and closer to him until I couldn't move at all. I could feel the sharp bite of the brick digging into my back, but it was the perfect mix of pain and pleasure. He found my lips easily in the darkness, using feather light touches that were oh so sweet, but just not enough.

He moved his lips from mine only to place long, tender kisses along my jaw line and down my neck, making me moan and tilt my head back. When Edward's path led him back to my lips, I gasped at the intensity. He took advantage of my shock and edged his soft tongue just past my teeth. I opened my mouth wider, desperate to let more of him in. I was faintly aware of my hands buried in Edward's hair, but had no recollection of how or when they got there. They didn't stay in his hair for very long as Edward gripped my wrists, pinning my arms above my head, leaving me defenseless. I didn't mind. It wasn't like I was going to try and fight against him anyway.

"There you – OH MY GOD!"

Our lips tore apart but I could feel us connected everywhere else – legs tangled up in legs, hips pressed into hips, and chests heaving in time with each other. We turned our heads to find Alice standing a few feet away with her hand coving her mouth.

"You two are kissing!" Alice exclaimed, loud enough that the residents of Seattle could probably hear her. Hell, probably some Canadians in British Columbia heard her too.

"I'm so happy. I'll go. You two continue," she instructed with a wave of her hand, turning on her heel and walking away. Honestly, Alice was so drunk that I doubted she'd remember any of this in the morning.

I stood on my tiptoes, and Edward and I shared one final kiss that was extraordinarily tame compared to what had just happened.

"Are you wearing lip gloss?" Edward asked, taking my hand and leading me back to the party.

"Um, no. Chapstick… why?

Edward's tongue made a few long passes over his lower lip. "It tastes delicious."

**~!~DBSYPWTBB~!~**

I woke to the delicious smell of greasy food. I kept my head buried under my pillow and my right leg out of my warm comforter for a few minutes before I got the energy to flip over. I discovered a glass of water and an Advil on my side table, along with a sticky note with a smiley face and a _Good Morning_ written on it in blue ink.

I sipped the water and forwent the Advil as my head didn't hurt at all. I took the glass with me as I made my way downstairs. I found my parents in the kitchen; Charlie manning the frying pan and Renee doing the morning Sudoku with a cup of tea beside her.

"Morning," I croaked.

Renee smiled at me. "How was your night?"

Memories from the night before flashed through my head. "Good." For the most part.

"How are you feeling this morning?" Charlie asked, seeming particularly cheerful this morning.

My eyes flickered back and forth between my parents. "Fine…"

"Did you have anything to drink?" Renee asked lightly, gazing at me as she took a long sip from her cup.

"A bit," I replied cautiously, wondering where this was going.

I was surprised when Renee swore under her breath, pulled a ten-dollar bill from her pocket and slid it over to Charlie.

Huh… well that was highly unexpected.

Charlie turned around and grinned. "Bacon?"

**~!~DBSYPWTBB~!~**

When I got back to my room, I had a missed text from Alice.

**Have any plans?**

I glanced at the clock. I still had a few hours before I was supposed to hang out with Edward.

**Not at this very moment…**

Her reply was instant.

**Are you up for a drive?**

Something felt off. Very off.

**What's going on Alice?**

**Emergency. We're needed. **

**I'll be ready in 10**

I tossed on some clothes before running my toothbrush over my teeth a few times. I didn't even bother brushing my hair. I barely managed to tell Charlie and Renee I was going out before Alice pulled up.

"So what's this big emergency?" I asked as I climbed into the car, noting the plastic bag with a few pints of Ben and Jerry's ice cream.

Alice cleared her throat. "Well, we need to go over to Rose's house," she whispered.

I glanced back down at the bag of ice cream, then up at Alice's expression, putting the pieces together. "Oh no."

"Yeah," Alice whispered.

Alice wasted no time when we arrived, pushing the door open without bothering to knock. We found Rose curled up on the couch, sitting in silence. Rose was worse than I had ever seen her before. She was in a sweater that clearly belonged to Emmett as it hung loosely from her body and fell way past her hands. Her hair was thrown in a haphazard bun on top of her head, and she held traces of the previous night's mascara under her eyes. What really concerned me was the raw pain in her eyes.

As soon as she saw us, her eyes welled up.

"We broke up," she sobbed. "He broke up with me."

* * *

**Apologies for no sneak peek this time around. I posted this chapter as soon as I was done. **

**If – and I do mean IF - I made an outtake of Rose and Emmett's break up, who's POV would you want it? Rose's? Emmett's? Both? Doesn't matter? Lemme know! **

**Shortly (hell, who am I kidding – I can never do anything 'shortly')… eventually… hopefully before 2011 ends, I am going to take down my other story ****Fighting Temptation**** for a period of time just so I can fix it up and remodel it a bit before reposting it. I read through it the a while ago and realized I wasn't happy with the quality of writing. I just need to find the time where I can work on it and keep working on DBSYPWTBB. If you read it and have any thoughts, opinions, suggestions, or questions, please don't hesitate to send me a PM.**

**Lastly, please let me know what you thought of this chapter! **


	12. Relationship Expert Extraordinaire…Maybe

**Dear Bella Swan, You're Playing with the Big Boys**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight**

**Hello there, my sweets. No this is not a dream; this is actually the next chapter up after all this time. Thank you for all of you who are sticking with me. **

**Just a few housekeeping items based on some reviews and PM I received:**

**1. Yes, I does take me forever to write a new chapter – I do have a real life too**

**2. As I've stated before, I will NEVER abandon this story, no matter how long it takes me to complete it. **

**This chapter has been edited by Edwardsfavoritebrunette and My-Heart-Of-Music**

**Enjoy! **

Chapter 12: Relationship Expert Extraordinaire… Maybe

_Alice wasted no time when we arrived, pushing the door open without bothering to knock. We found Rose curled up on the couch, sitting in silence. Rose was worse than I had ever seen her before. She was in a sweater that clearly belonged to Emmett as it hung loosely from her body and fell way past her hands. Her hair was thrown in a haphazard bun on top of her head, and she held traces of the previous night's mascara under her eyes. What really concerned me was the raw pain in her eyes._

_As soon as she saw us, her eyes welled up._

_"We broke up," she sobbed. "He broke up with me."_

Alice and I rushed over, throwing our arms around her and trying our best to surround her with our love. Alice managed to push one of the pints of ice cream into Rose's hand before making her way to the kitchen to grab cutlery. Rose wasted no time as she ripped off the lid and started digging into the chunk filled creamy delight with her finger.

Alice returned, passing Rose and me spoons and keeping the lone fork for herself. Alice had a strange habit of eating her ice cream with a fork, and none of us was ever able to understand it. The one time I questioned her, she claimed it made the ice cream taste better.

Rose started talking without any prompting.

"At Angela's, he just got up and started storming towards the door without a word. I was worried so I followed him out, but we didn't even make it to the sidewalk before he turned around and told me he couldn't do it anymore. At first, I didn't know what he was talking about, but then he started talking about Royce and me. I tried telling him it wasn't like that at all but I started throwing up. Like, how could my night go further downhill?"

Rose paused for a moment, scarfing down half the pint in five bites. I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket but decided to ignore it.

"Next thing I know, Emmett's helping me up the steps to his house. His grandma was still up, watching her favorite game shows in the living room. I must have looked pretty bad, because she muted the TV and offered to make me tea. I think Emmett declined for me since he brought me to the bathroom and spent a helluva long time with me as I was hunched over the toilet. When I was done, we went to his room and talked. I think the worst part was he never yelled – not once – and I just couldn't be mad at him."

Rose curled further into a ball and buried her face in her hands

"I remember I couldn't stop crying and apologizing," she whispered. "I just – I couldn't breathe. I had to leave." She looked up and let out some kind of choked laugh. "Of course, Em wouldn't let me walk home alone at night, so I had to embarrass myself more by being a total mess as he drove me home. He waited for me to get in my house before he drove off, and I knew that was it. He'd never want anything to do with me anymore."

The silence in the room lasted a few beats too long. I had no idea how to even begin dealing with the situation. Whenever one of my friends in Phoenix went through a break up, I was never really close friends with the other person, and relationships rarely lasted more then a few months anyways. Alice looked just as lost as I did.

Rose was oblivious to our loss for words. "I just – I just love him so much. I don't give a shit about Royce."

"Rose! Tell him this!" I encouraged, hoping it was the right thing to say.

She shook her head and choked on a sob. "There's no point. _He's_ the one that broke up with _me_."

After that, she broke down completely. Rose let the floodgates crumble and rocked herself on the couch. There were a few times that Alice and I were able to calm her down, but it wouldn't last long as something else would remind her of Emmett.

I remembered the text I had yet to check. I waited until Rose went to the bathroom to look at it. I couldn't stop the smile that spread across my face when I saw it was from Edward.

"What are you grinning about?"

The smile dropped from my face as Alice gave me a sly look. I suddenly felt guilty.

"Nothing," I answered, shaking my head as I opened the message.

**You with Rose?**

**Yeah. You with Em? **I typed.

His response came quick**. Ya. It's not pretty…**

Rose came back without a word and curled up in the fetal position. Her face was turned towards the television, but she clearly wasn't actually watching the "feel good" movie Alice has tossed on in hopes of cheering her up.

**Same. Rain check for tonight?**

As soon as I sent it, I felt guilty for feeling upset. I didn't _want_ to push back my plans with Edward, but I knew I _needed_ to be here with Rose and he needed to be with Emmett.

**That seems to be the best option at this point.**

"How do I treat him on Monday? Do I avoid him? Pretend everything is fine?"

"I don't know, Rose," I whispered. "Whatever you think is best."

Rose was obviously exhausted from all the crying and her lack of eating throughout the day, with the exception of ice cream. We managed to get her up the stairs and into her room so we could tuck her into bed. She grabbed the overstuffed penguin Emmett got her before curling up tightly. I didn't have the heart to take it and the memories it contained away from her.

Rose's mom, step-dad, and step-brother were gone for the weekend, and Alice and I weren't going to let Rose spend the night alone. We borrowed clothes from her closet and settled in on either side of her. When morning rolled around, Alice and I spent the better part of the morning with her before dropping her off at work. Alice tried convincing her to call in sick, but Rose refused, wanting to prove to herself she was strong and didn't need to mope over the ending of a three-year relationship.

"I'm so worried about her," Alice admitted as soon as the clear doors of the café closed behind Rosalie.

"Me too."

"I wonder how Em's doing. Jazz didn't say much when I was on the phone with him this morning."

I opened my mouth, about to tell her that Edward said it wasn't pretty in his text the night before, but I resisted. I didn't know if it was my place to tell or not.

It was pretty quiet the rest of the drive to my house. I wasn't even halfway up my driveway when Alice rolled down the automatic window and called my name.

I turned. "Yeah?"

"So… do you wanna tell me why, in my hazy memory of Friday night, I vividly recall seeing you and Edward making out against the side of the house?"

I shook my head at her Cheshire smile and took a deep lungful of chilly air. "Come inside."

**~!~DBSYPWTBB~!~**

Alice knew, and in turn, Jasper probably knew as well. The night before, I had made Alice promise not to say anything to Rose – she didn't need to hear anything about the lurking possibility of a new relationship when hers just fell to pieces. Alice promised she wouldn't breathe a word to Rose or Emmett.

School was bad from the moment Rose's foot met the pavement as she stepped out of Alice's car. She was like a ghost as she drifted through the halls. She went through the motions of her day without really comprehending anything around her. When I entered the cafeteria, I didn't know if it was a good or bad thing that only Rose and Alice sat at our usual table... the boys were nowhere in sight.

Alice looked at me with fleeting panic in her eyes while Rose nibbled at her sandwich, her eyes downcast. We tried to keep the conversation light, but I was sure Rose had no idea what topics we were even discussing. As much as I was focused on trying to keep Rose from being swallowed by her misery, I couldn't deny scanning all the tables every few minutes, hoping I would catch a glimpse of the guys. I understood Em not wanting to see Rose, but I prayed it wouldn't stay this way. I wanted Em and Rose to have their needed space from each other, but I didn't want their breakup to affect the friendship between all of us.

Rose finally asked the question we'd hoped to avoid. "Do you think they aren't here because of me?"

"No, sweetie," Alice soothed, answering too quick for it to be words of truth.

Rose managed a ghost of a smile. "Thanks for trying to make me feel better."

Rose's small glimpse of happiness, no matter how small, felt like a giant leap of accomplishment in my opinion. Unfortunately, the heart-warming feeling didn't last long as a bad feeling quickly took its place.

In my peripheral, I saw Lauren stomp her way along the stained linoleum floor, and the bad feeling only heightened as she unscrewed the plastic cap of her bottle of cola. She didn't slow as she approached her usual table, only two away from ours.

Alice and Rose's attention were already on her.

"Don't do it," Alice murmured under her breath.

Tyler's eyes went wide as he realized what was about to happen a few seconds too late to stop it.

"Lauren! Don't - "

I had no idea if the word had spread about Tyler and Jessica's kitchen endeavors, but Lauren was definitely informed.

"Oops," Lauren drawled. "I'm _so_ sorry." Her voice was sickly sweet yet full of venom.

"White sweater and pop? Regardless of what Jessica did, that was a bitch move," Rose murmured with a small shake of her head.

I filled her in, grateful for her to focus on relationship problems that weren't her own.

**~!~DBSYPWTBB~!~**

The guys didn't show up in the cafeteria at all, but Edward was at my locker. It took me a few moments to quell the thrill of happiness that surged through me to realize he had my locker opened and was rummaging through it.

He didn't notice me until I stood right beside him. "Oh, Bella… hey." He grinned sheepishly. "You're a few minutes earlier than I expected... I know this is technically an invasion of privacy, but it's for the greater good, I promise."

I stayed quiet, too bewildered to attempt asking what he was doing and how he got into my locker in the first place.

He turned to me with his arms full of everything that was previously in my locker, skillfully shutting it with his foot. He didn't bother replacing the lock as he took a few short strides away from me.

"Where are you going?" I asked, finally finding my voice.

"I'm showing you to your new locker," he replied without turning. I followed him, noticing our route was very familiar. When we turned down the hall where his locker was, I started scanning the beige lockers near his, noting they all already had locks on them.

Edward turned to me, beaming. "We're sharing!"

I shook my head in disbelief, chuckling softly at his excitement. "Alright. Fine."

"Wait, really? Wow, that was easy. I wrote out a bunch of reasons why this would be awesome because I figured you'd make excuses."

"Really?"

"Well… no. But I thought about it, and they're all in my head." He grinned, tapping his head with more enthusiasm than necessary.

I shook my head. Edward had too many strange aspects that somehow turned into part of his charm.

Once we reached his locker and rearranged it to accommodate all of my things, we headed off to math as the warning bell rang overhead. We sat in our seats and took advantage of the few minutes we had before class actually began. We situated our seats as close to the midline of the desk as we could, leaning towards each other in attempt to keep our conversation semi-private.

"We're gunna get Emmet a puppy," Edward announced.

"We?"

"Jasper and me," he clarified.

"Because that's not random at all…"

Edward simply shrugged. "He's always wanted one. He'd take good care of it- he wouldn't leave the responsibility to his mom or grandma."

The bell rang and Mr. Wilson declared he had a very special announcement. "Today, I'm going to get a little adventurous. Today, I have decided to use yellow chalk. Why, You may ask? Because sometimes change is a good thing."

**~!~DBSYPWTBB~!~**

Practice was the first time I saw Emmett all day. The skin under his eyes was dark and his body just screamed exhaustion. Once he finally saw me, he reminded me of a frightened dog in a kennel; it was like he didn't know how he was supposed to act around me, so he tried to back himself into a corner.

I approached him with the intention to give him a hug or some sort of comfort, but stopped short when I saw the sheer look of panic in his eyes. I tried not to let it bother me, but that didn't stop the sharp sting I felt in my chest. I was about to turn around and give him the space he obviously needed, but Jasper placed a hand on my shoulder and held me still.

"Just give him a minute," he said, almost pleading.

Emmett took tentative steps in my direction, stopping when he got close enough to reach out and wrap an arm around me. His embrace felt like a wordless apology… for what, I wasn't sure. When he pulled away, his smile was both heartwarming and heartbreaking. He opened his mouth, but the sound of Mr. Wilson's whistle cut off the few words Emmett managed to get out.

"We'll talk later," I promised. I would have made him repeat what he was going to say as we made our way closer to Mr. Wilson, but I figured the smarter option was to wait as I saw the state he was in. Mr. Wilson was practically pacing a hole in the ground, and continued to blow his whistle every few seconds until we were all gathered in front of him.

After a lengthy talk about discipline, perfection, and other things I had totally zoned out for, we started off by doing wind sprints – definitely my least favorite thing of all time. Although I did have to admit I was proud of the fact that I was finally able to keep up with the majority of the guys.

In front of me, I saw Tyler glance behind him before starting to slow down. He continued slowing down until he was right beside me and matched his pace to mine.

"Hey, Bella," he panted. "Do you have a few minutes to talk after practice?"

I'm sure my face had "what the hell?" written all over it. Even through my helmet, I was sure it was evident. Tyler had to put a hand on my arm to stop me from running beyond the line instead of turning around at it.

"You were in the kitchen, right?"

I nodded before agreeing to talk to him. I spent the rest of practice wondering what Tyler needed to talk to me – of all people – about. I knew something was definitely up when I found him pacing in front of the girls' locker room. It took him a moment to realize I was standing there, and I wordlessly followed him to one of the weather-beaten picnic tables outside.

"What's up?" I asked once we were situated, entirely too curious to stay quiet any longer.

Tyler folded his arms in front of him. "I'm just going to start off by saying that I know you're confused. I just figured you'd be the best person to talk to. We had a rough start to say the least, but you're really down to earth and one of the only girls at this school that doesn't thirst for gossip - amen to that." He took a deep breath and rolled his neck, and the sound of it cracking echoed loudly. "I just don't know what to do."

I waited for him to continue, but Tyler remained quiet. "About…?" I prompted.

"Jess and Lauren. I know it was dumb to publicly make out with Jess when technically…" Tyler raised his hands to do air quotes around technically, "…Lauren and I were still dating. I didn't want to drag Jessica into the middle of my drama with Lauren, but that's exactly what ended up happening… example being the childish antics you witnessed during lunch."

To be honest, I wasn't a fan of either of them. Jessica was the more tolerable of the two – I always suspected she just put up a front, while deep down Lauren truly was a cold-hearted bitch.

"May I ask why you didn't just break up with Lauren before you started something with Jessica?"

"She's really good at distractions," he muttered guiltily with a hint of embarrassment creeping onto his face. "Plus, Jess isn't really talking to me now."

No shit. Did he really expect Jessica to be all smiles with an aura of rainbows and unicorns? But Tyler didn't need to hear my snarky comments; he came to me for a reason and I respected that. Even though we had a pretty rocky start, I felt obligated to attempt to help him out of his less than ideal situation.

"I personally think your best bet is to talk to each of them… individually. They both need apologies and Lauren needs an explanation."

Try as he might, Tyler couldn't hide his cringe. "The only problem with that is I tried talking to her already, and I had to leave before I could say too much since she was looking for something equally sharp and heavy to throw at me."

"I'm going to go out on a limb and guess things are officially done then?"

"Oh, for sure."

"Good."

Tyler's eyes went wide.

"I'm sorry, I was under the impression you wanted things with Jessica to work out."

"Oh… right."

Oh, how I wondered how the male brain worked sometimes.

The school doors opened, drawing my attention. A blond head popped its head out, and I gave Jasper a small wave when he finally looked my way. A moment later, the rest of his body emerged, along with Emmett and Edward in tow.

"There you are!" Jasper called, making his way over to the picnic table.

I glanced at Tyler, who was still firmly seated before turning my attention to Jasper. "Hang on, okay?"

"No no, it's okay," Tyler assured. "I think we're good."

"You sure?"

Tyler nodded. "You've been a lot of help. Thanks, Bella."

I stood up, trying my best not to let my foot catch on the bench part as I extracted myself from under the table. "Anytime. Lemme know if you need help with anything else." I waved my goodbye to Tyler before greeting the new arrivals with a smile. "All set?"

We made our way to the car, Edward and I trailing slightly behind the other two. Edward took advantage of being behind their backs by sliding his arm around my waist and giving me a silent peck before we had to part to get in opposite sides of the vehicle.

As short as the car ride was, it was weird. Emmett remained mostly silent, which was a huge change from his usual boisterous demeanor. The few minutes I was in the car wasn't uncomfortable, per say, but it didn't feel normal.

Once I got home, I had made it halfway up the stairs when Charlie called me.

"Yeah?" I hollered back, making no move to retrace my steps down the stairs.

"Invite Edward over for dinner tomorrow."

I did a full one-eighty and dropped my bag on the stairs. I walked until I was next to Charlie as he nursed a beer in his favorite chair.

"Are there any ulterior motives I should be concerned about?"

He took a long pull without looking at me. "Ask your mother. She's leaving in a few days and wants him over for dinner."

Since Renee was nowhere in sight and a quick peek out the window told me her rental car was gone, I made a mental note to question my mother later. I made my way back to my room and texted Edward before I forgot.

**My mom wants you to join us for dinner tomorrow**

**Do you want me to?**

**Of course :) **

**Just checking. I'll be there :) **

~!~DBSYPWTBB~!~

"Can I talk to you?" Pierre caught up to me moments before I entered the locker room.

"After, I mean," he said, gesturing towards the door.

"Um, sure. Ya, I guess."

Not wanting the possibility of holding up the guys from getting home later than necessary two days in a row, I tried to change as quickly as I could, doing up my belt on my way out of the door and nearly barreling into Pierre in my haste. He had been pacing a mere few inches from the door, already changed and evidently antsy.

"Is outside okay?" he asked, already making his way outside.

I shrugged, even though he couldn't see me. "Sure," I mumbled. "Why not."

I felt a wave of déjà vu as I took a seat at the same picnic table Tyler and I had sat at the day before. We were silent for the first few moments as Pierre traced the grain of the wood with his fingertips.

He didn't look up when started talking. "Straight up, I know you and – errr, well… I _think_ you and Edward have a thing, but I just needed to tell you I like you."

Oh my lanta… this wasn't expected. But, the more I kind of thought about it and let it sink in, the more I realized that it actually was expected.

"Oh…" was my brilliant answer. "Um… thanks."

"Yeah… so I just wanted to let you know… get it off my chest and all…" He let out a forced laugh.

I nodded, not knowing what else to say. I didn't know if that ended our conversation and I was free to leave, or if Pierre had more he wanted to say. We sat in total silence – not even sounds of birds, or rustling of trees reaching our ear – looking everywhere but at each other.

On the awkward scale, this conversation was well past texting a winky face instead of a smiley face but not yet at the point of running into Granny at a strip club. It wasn't like I didn't like Pierre - he was a really sweet guy and I did like him as a friend… but …

"So, yeah. That's it, I guess." Pierre rubbed the back of his neck, keeping his gaze on the table. It was barely noticeable, but I caught a look of regret. He regretted telling me he liked me.

… But now I knew I couldn't be myself around him anymore, and I would always over-analyze every kind gesture he would make from then on. Hell, Edward and I weren't even dating… yet… hopefully… and here I was making sure to steer clear from all other guys.

I stood and placed a hand on his shoulder, willing him too look up.

He didn't.

I gave a gentle squeeze before leaving. "I'll see you tomorrow."

As I walked to the parking lot, I wondered what Edward would think. I knew I was going to tell him - there was no way I could not tell him. Once I saw him, I expected the words to tumble out of my mouth. Instead, they caught in my throat – not even making their way to the tip of my tongue. It was then that I realized I was scared. What if Edward got mad? What if he thought I led Pierre on?

"Are you all done talking to boys, little missy?"

Oh no. I couldn't tell him. Hell no. No. No. No. No. No. He would definitely get mad. Yeah, I knew he was teasing, but there had to be some hidden truth underneath. Or maybe he already figured it out. Oh no.

I nodded. I was too scared to open my mouth.

The amount of off-key singing Edward did in the car made me wonder if I was just imagining him being mad at me. I mean, if he _were_ mad, he would be serenading the neighborhood with something other than 90's boy-band songs, right? I was still pondering when Edward pulled in front of my house.

"I just need to shower, then I'll be right over."

"Okay. See you soon."

I sprawled on my bed, focusing on nothing and just thinking about how to tell Edward about Pierre and running through the various ways he could react. The list of scenarios was endless. So endless, that when I happened to look at the clock, I realized Edward could be over at any moment. As much as I needed to shower, I knew I didn't have that much time at all. I scrubbed my face with a washcloth, reapplied some deodorant and filled my room with the scent of my body spray. Totally disgusting, but I promised myself it wasn't as gross as it truly was since I would shower later that night.

I didn't even have time to make it downstairs before Edward arrived. He appeared at my door, leaning against the wooden frame.

"How you doin'?"

I rolled my eyes. "You're a dork."

Edward grinned as he walked in my room, closing the door with a soft click behind him.

"Keep it open!" Charlie hollered from downstairs.

As Edward spun on his heel to reopen the door, I discreetly tried to shove a dirty bra under my bed with my foot.

He took a seat in my desk chair, and surprised me by folding his legs in his lap. He caught sight of my titled head and squinted eyes, flashed a grin, and started spinning himself around, using his hands to push off my desk for momentum.

"Are you having fun?"

"Loads!" he answered, pushing himself faster.

I figured now was as good a time as any to tell him. He was in good mood and I hoped would compensate any anger or sadness that may arise.

I pinned my clammy hands under my legs. "So… guess what I found out today."

"What?"

"Apparently Pierre likes me."

"Oh, yeah. He for sure does." Edward grabbed the desk and pulled himself to a stop. "Wow, I'm dizzy."

It took me a second to gather myself. This was not the reaction I was expecting… at all.

"Someone's in a good mood today."

"Well…yeah. I get to see you. _Outside_ of school," he clarified. "As much as I want to see you whilst on a date, this works too."

"Whilst?"

"Oh yeah, I said whilst." Edward gave me an exaggerated wink before flashing a cheesy grin.

This was what made me like Edward. The fact he could be so carefree and silly while I stressed myself out for no apparent reason.

"So, what's next?" I asked, trying to bite back my smile. "Do you want me to move so you can jump on my bed?"

His first response was an eyebrow raise followed by a slow, disapproving shake of his head. "Bella, I'm sure your father would frown upon that." He looked so serious that I couldn't stifle my laugh.

We eventually made our way downstairs, surprised to see there was no smoke or other mishaps in the kitchen. After checking to see if my mother required our assistance, we flicked on the television, holding hands but sitting far enough apart that Charlie wouldn't yell if he saw us… I hoped.

I could hear Renee constantly entering and exiting the kitchen, placing dishes and other things on the table. After her fourth trip, I snuck a quick peek at the table behind me, wondering exactly how much food she expected the four of us to eat; it was practically a Thanksgiving feast.

Renee finally placed the last dish and called Edward and me over. The table was dressed in a white lace tablecloth, and I was surprised to see we actually had four plates that matched each other. Just about every last inch of table surface was covered in steaming food that admittedly smelled delicious, with only the smallest amount of unoccupied area of table space next to Charlie's plate.

It was only after we sat down that I noticed the lamp that was usually in the living room had a new location on the floor by Charlie's feet. Before I could question it, he picked it up, turning the light on and placing it on the small space near him, the bright beam of light directed onto Edward's face.

"What are your intentions with my daughter?"

"DAD!" I didn't think there was a time I was ever more embarrassed in my life. My hands rose to my face, coving every inch of my burning skin.

What surprised me most was Renee's tinkling laughter. I expected her to either be embarrassed like I was or scowling at Charlie. Her laugher broke Charlie's tough façade.

"I'm so sorry. I've just always wanted to do that." He guffawed.

Edward was still frozen in his chair, eyes wide despite the burning light. I nudged his foot under the table with mine, mouthing an apology when he looked my way.

It took a few minutes for everyone to return back to normal. Renee and Charlie stopped laughing, my cheeks turned back to their normal pale shade, and Edward finally looked the slightest bit relaxed.

"You have to admit that was clever of your old man, eh?" Charlie asked through a mouthful of mashed potatoes.

Truthfully it was, but it would have been better if it had happened to anyone but me.

"Yeah, dad." I tried to sound indifferent. "Very clever."

He wiped the corners of his mouth with his napkin and turned his attention back to Edward.

"But seriously, what are your intentions?"

**~!~DBSYPWTBB~!~**

Rose was nowhere in sight. I wasn't surprised, seeing as she wished me luck multiple times at school. Alice was there, though. She sat next to Jasper's parents, Emmett's grandma, Edward's mom, Charlie, and, surprisingly, Renee. Emmett's grandma was astoundingly awesome and was well in the running for the best fan any sport had ever seen.

We were on the field, warming up for our semi-final match against one of the high schools from Sequim. I could just imagine my mom complaining the entire car ride up. She hated driving, and living in the middle of nowhere meant long drives to more civilization.

We hadn't played against them before, but according to the media, we were practically evenly matched. It didn't feel that way though, as their campus and stadium were a good three times larger than ours back in Forks. It didn't help that the stands were almost at full capacity with fans clad in yellow, and only a small handful of Forks supporters in green.

With us losing the coin toss, I had to kick off first. It was a short but decent kick, and I hovered in safety even as the kick returner sliced and dodged his way through the green jerseys. I made that mistake once, and there was no need to piss Mr. Wilson off about the same thing twice.

The returner was finally stopped at our 40-yard line and I made my way to the sidelines. As the game unfolded, I realized that media was right: we were evenly matched. It felt like a well-practiced dance - a catch for a catch, and a tackle for a tackle. That was the only way it resembled a dance; coaches were yelling, fans were screaming, and athletes were covered in dirt and grass.

At half time, we were all tied up at fourteen, and I felt maybe, just maybe, we had a shot at winning this.

**~!~DBSYPWTBB~!~**

The hot water felt like liquid heaven as I stood in the shower. We were finally back from Sequim, and all I could think about on the bus ride back was how badly I wanted to wash the grime off my body.

All I could think of in the shower was the emotions right after the game ended. Never had I seen a group of guys look so triumphant. It wasn't even the finals and they were celebrating like they had won the Superbowl.

With less than a minute left, as we were down by a field goal. Jasper threw a perfect spiral right into Tyler's arms. Tyler sprinted twelve yards to the end zone and tossed the football to the ground in celebration. We started cheering on the sidelines before we realized the referee hadn't put his hand up. We had been so focused on watching Tyler run that no one but the coaches noticed the yellow flag that was tossed in the air.

I could hear Mr. Wilson swearing up a storm and yelling to the ref. The flag was against us due to offensive holding. The touchdown didn't count.

Just like that, our season ended. The other team had won and they could not have been happier.

I turned off the shower, wringing out my hair before tossing it up in a towel. I got myself all cozied up, sitting in my desk chair and wearing my favorite sweatpants that I refused to get rid of. Charlie had grown used to them, but Renee had fought tooth-and-nail for me to get rid of them. She hated them in Phoenix and they had only gotten worse for wear since. The hems were well past being frayed and there was an unknown stain no detergent could get rid of. Not to mention the hole that had formed in a location that made me make a mental note to never wear them commando under any circumstance. Ever.

I had cracked open my biology textbook, having just finished procrastinating on the Internet when Renee's voice floated up the stairs.

"Bella, honey. Door's for you."

My confusion of whom it could be only intensified when I heard soft barking coming from the front door.

I found Emmett standing on our front porch, a furry brown ball at his feet with slightly oversized paws.

Renee elbowed me and when I turned to look at her she nodded towards Emmett with an anticipatory look.

"Oh. Mom, this is Emmett. Emmett, this is my mom," I introduced.

"Emmett…Emmett...Emmett…." she mumbled to herself before snapping her fingers. "Emmett! The one dating Rose, right?"

Luckily, Renee looked at me for clarification so she didn't see the pained looked on Emmett's face.

The silence was lingering too long, and I knew my mom was about to turn into the Spanish inquisition.

I turned to Emmett before Renee could open her mouth. "Do you want hot chocolate?" He started shaking his head but I gave him a pointed look. "I think you want hot chocolate."

"Oh, I'll make them!" Renee offered. "Do you guys want marshmallows in them?"

As soon as she disappeared into the kitchen, the little puppy tugged at its leash, desperately trying to get in the house. Em picked it up, and its mission quickly shifted from making it past the porch to trying to lick every inch of Emmett's face with its little pink tongue.

"Sorry. I know it's late," he apologized, trying to dodge the puppy's tongue. "But I just needed someone to talk to."

* * *

**Leave a review and let me know what you think!**


	13. Moving in the Right Direction…Take Two

Dear Bella Swan, You're Playing with the Big Boys

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight**

**This chapter has been edited by Edwardsfavoritebrunette. **

**Thank you everyone who is sticking with me! There is an important announcement at the end of the chapter - but first and foremost, enjoy the new chapter! **

Chapter 13: Moving in the Right Direction…Take Two

_I found Emmett standing on our front porch, a furry brown ball with slightly oversized paws standing attentive at his feet. _

_Renee elbowed me and when I turned to look at her she nodded towards Emmett with an anticipatory look._

_"Oh. Mom, this is Emmett. Emmett, this is my mom," I introduced._

_"Emmett…Emmett...Emmett…." she mumbled to herself before snapping her fingers. "Emmett! The one dating Rose, right?"_

_Luckily, Renee looked at me for clarification so she didn't see the pained looked on Emmett's face._

_The silence was lingering too long, and I knew my mom was about to turn into the Spanish inquisition._

_I turned to Emmett before Renee could open her mouth. "Do you want hot chocolate?" He started shaking his head but I gave him a pointed look. "I think you want hot chocolate."_

_"Oh, I'll make them!" Renee offered. "Do you guys want marshmallows in them?"_

_As soon as she disappeared into the kitchen, the little puppy tugged at its leash, desperately trying to get in the house. Em picked it up, and its mission quickly shifted from making it past the porch to trying to lick every inch of Emmett's face with its little pink tongue._

_"Sorry. I know it's late," he apologized, trying to dodge the puppy's tongue. "But I just needed someone to talk to."_

"No worries," I told him, eyeing the puppy in his hands. "It's perfectly alright."

"It's not too cold out." Emmett pointed behind his shoulder. "Do you mind if we sit outside?"

I led Emmett around my mom's suitcases in the living room and to the back door so we could sit on the weather-beaten tête-à-tête in the backyard. The evening wind had a sharp bite to it, but it wasn't as bad as it could have been so I sucked it up and hid my hands in the sleeves of my sweater.

Emmett tried his best to keep the puppy in his lap, but it refused to sit still as it tried to look everywhere. I reached over and scratched behind its ears.

"What is this little guy's name?"

Emmett tried once again to make the puppy sit before giving up. "This little girl here is Kida."

"My apologies for thinking you were a boy, Kida." I got a lick in response.

Emmett managed a half smile before staring up at the stars. I didn't prompt him for conversation. Instead, I looked up at the sky with him. Seeing the stars without interference from skyscrapers and city lights was one of the few things I enjoyed about Forks. It brought a sense of comfort and peace.

"Do you think I made a mistake?" Emmett eyes never wavered from the sky.

"Emmett, I can't tell you that. It's how you feel and you need to let your head and your heart guide you." I snuck a glance his way. "Did you feel like breaking up with Rose was the right thing to do?"

He swallowed hard and took awhile to answer. "Yes."

I smiled sadly. "Then you didn't make a mistake." As much as I didn't want to say it, I had to.

Renee poked her head out the back door. "Can I bring these out?" She held up the cups of hot chocolate, steam easily visible in the chill of the night.

Once we had the mugs in our hand, I instantly warmed up. Emmett took a tentative sip, only to spit it back out less than a second later. I would have guessed it was due to the heat if not for the look of combined confusion and disgust he made. Leave it to my mom to mess up hot chocolate from a packet.

"Sorry."

"Don't be. I've spat out more of her kitchen disasters than you can imagine."

"No, I didn't mean about this," he said, holding up the cup. "I'm sorry for coming to you. I'm know Rose is your friend."

"You're my friend too, Em," I reminded him gently. "And I'm not saying I'm happy about how things turned out, but stuff happens and I understand. I just… I just don't want to lose either of you as friends, okay?"

I reached over and grabbed his hand, giving a gentle squeeze. It surprised me when he squeezed back right away.

"Do you think she cheated?" His voice was barely above a whisper.

I shook my head. "No." Flirted – yes. Cheated – no.

He nodded without any conviction. "Do you think she just got bored of us? Was I not doing enough?" He wasn't talking to me anymore. This time, he was asking himself.

Emmett was broken - that much was obvious. Even though he was the one to break up with Rosalie, it seemed like he was having as hard, if not a harder time coping than she was. His eyes couldn't hide the pain and his body screamed defeat. It was easy to see how much he loved her, while they were dating and even now. He missed her – his true match. They complemented each other so well; the rest of us always made jokes behind their back about how they would be the first ones to tie the knot since they already acted like an old married couple.

"She still loves you, Emmett."

He glanced over at me. The darkness couldn't hide the tears he was fighting off. "I wish I could believe that."

**~!~ DBSYPWTBB~!~**

A month later, everything that once made Forks look so lush and green was covered with white powdery snow. It made Forks look worthy of a Hallmark card, but that was where the beauty of snow ended in my opinion.

It made me cold.

It made me shiver.

It made me wet.

It made me miserable.

The only thing worse than snow was ice.

I made my way down the narrow driveway, taking baby steps at a snail's pace. That still didn't stop me from falling on the patch of slick ice right beside the driver's side door of my truck. No matter where I parked it and no matter how much salt I used to coat the ice, my butt had daily meetings with the pavement.

I tried to ignore the wet spot on my jeans as I climbed into the old Chevy truck with flaking red paint and a rusted underbelly. It used to be Billy's, and was left for dead until Jake made it his mission to get it back up and running during his weekend visits. Once he accomplished that, he realized neither himself nor Billy had any use for the truck, so Charlie bought it from him as a "congratulations-on-a-great-season-I-am-so-proud-of-you-and-a-belated-welcome-to-Forks" present for me. It was old and smelt like stale kitty litter, but it was a car I could call my own.

With winter exams looming near, I wasn't surprised Rose and Emmett hadn't found their way back on speaking terms, but that still didn't mean I was thrilled about the awkwardness that still hung in the air. There still felt as though there were a line in the sand that couldn't be crossed. It seemed as though Rose got custody of Alice and me, while Emmett got Jasper and Edward. Most of the awkwardness lay in the fact Rosalie and Emmett had yet to say more than two words to each other, and they would even go to extreme measures like taking different hallways to avoid each other's classes and lockers.

That's why I was on my way to Jasper's. Our goal wasn't to make them get back together, but we did want to come up with a way to get them back on speaking terms and be able to be in each other's presence. We missed our group and feeling like we were a close family.

I gave myself an extra ten minutes in case the roads were bad, something Forks was notoriously known for. It turned out I didn't need to leave early as weather was on my side and I arrived at Jasper's earlier than expected.

Apparently Jasper wasn't expecting me to come earlier either.

As soon as I opened the door I saw him reclined on his couch, his cat sound asleep on his chest, and the television showing more white lace, tulle, and beading than I ever expect any man to willing look at.

"That dress is way too busy. I'm not a huge fan of it."

Jasper jerked his head up as he heard my voice, flicking off the power quickly as if it would make a difference. "Bella! You're early."

I tried to bite back my smile as I looked at the now blank screen. "I can see that."

I wasn't judging. He was dating Alice, after all. She was no doubt the one that got him addicted to wedding related shows.

"Hey now, every man is allowed to enjoy one chick show," he said, trying to defend himself.

"I don't blame you." I was still smiling. "It's a good show."

I walked over to the television and turned it back on before sitting on the floor in front of Jasper.

"Isabella," Jasper scolded. "No need to sit on the floor." He made a move to pick up the still sleeping cat on his chest.

"Do not wake the cat!" I pawed his hands away from the Calico cat. "Jeffery needs his sleep."

"Bella, I told you. His name is General J.E.B. Stuart."

"Exactly. The J stands for Jeffery."

Jasper smirked. "It actually stands for Jeb."

"I don't care. I'm calling him Jeffery."

"Alright, you do that. He likes me better anyways."

I mocked a deep frown. "Well, that's not very friendly."

Jasper laughed and shrugged. "Alice said she'd be here in 10 with Edward."

"Gotcha, so they'll be here in 20. Perfect amount of time for planning."

**~!~ DBSYPWTBB~!~**

Jasper had well since changed the channel and I had shifted to the couch. Jeffery woke up shortly after our planning begun and found interest in a squeaky mouse toy. After discarding four plans, we were able to finalize the details of our fifth and final plan with two minutes to spare. Alice and Edward promptly arrived at the twenty-minute mark, shaking the snow off their coats and out of their hair.

Edward leaned over the back of the couch and placed a kiss on the top of my head. "Hi there, Sunshine."

I tilted my head back. "Hi, honey."

Edward and I recently become official. His elaborate plan started one day at school. With my terrible track record in regards to lockers, the latest incident being only a few days before, when I managed to smash myself in the face, it was essentially an unwritten rule that Edward did all the opening and closing of our metal death trap. The day of his elaborate plan, we walked to our locker as usual after lunch, but that day, Edward insisted that I open it. With limited embarrassment, I managed to open it and see why he urged the change in plans. Covering some of his pictures, there was a post-it note on the inside of the door. _**Dinner. My house. 6:00. You in?**_

I, of course, agreed.

I arrived promptly a 6:00, and could smell my favorite food wafting in the air. He remembered. He remembered my love of grilled cheese from the night after my football tryouts. With that, I wasn't surprised when I walked in the kitchen and found him pouring batter in a Belgian waffle maker. I wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. Edward was cooking us an elegant dinner of waffles and grilled cheese. Our table was in the form of a blanket Edward put by the fireplace in the living room. It wasn't snowing in Forks yet, but snow was threatening to fall daily as temperatures rapidly dropped.

Once we finished eating and were cuddling by the fire, I found out the true nature of the evening.

"I'm sure you're wondering why I asked you over here tonight."

I twisted to see as much of his face I could. "I assumed it was for dinner."

He scratched his head and his face turned a faint shade of pink. "Well, yeah. But there's also a secret secondary reason behind this." He moved so he was in front of me, and gave me a quick kiss before cradling my face in his hands. "Will you, Bella Swan, be my girlfriend?"

I placed my hand over his and felt the corners of my lips curve upward. "You never do anything simply, do you?"

"Is that a yes?"

I nodded. "That's a yes."

A knock on the door brought me back from the memory. Jasper made a move to get up, but the door cracked open and Emmett's face appeared. Emmett never knocked. He was always the one to make himself right at home and even answered the phone at other people's houses. He slipped his boots off but kept his coat on.

"Sorry for just dropping by. I was driving by and saw all the cars parked," he explained, jerking his thumb towards the line of cars parked on the road. He walked over and took a folded envelope from his back pocket and removed two tickets.

"These were supposed to be for Rose and me for our 3 year anniversary," he mumbled. "They're for Friday and instead of letting them go to waste, I figured I'd let you guys figure it out."

We chimed a chorus of thank you's, and got a head nod in return. He placed the tickets on the table. "So, yeah. That's all." He moved towards the front door and Alice followed.

"Emmett," Alice called. "Don't you want to stay for Twister?"

He shook his head. "Nah. We all know I'd just kick you asses anyway."

He said it in his usual joking tone, but his signature grin was still missing when he walked out the door.

**~!~DBSYPWTBB~!~**

Rose had been adamantly avoiding Royce all during gym. I secretly gave her a lot of credit, as it wasn't the easiest thing to do. They were on the same team for dodgeball and they were both terrible enough to be designated to the bench for the majority of class. Granted, I wasn't much better, but I was limited in terms of helping her from my spot on the opposing bench way on the other side of the gym. I couldn't make out anything they were saying, but as time went on, Royce talked more and more and I could see Rose grow angrier by the second. By the time we got back to the locker room, she was near tears.

"I can't eat in the cafeteria today," Rose told Alice and me. "I just can't. I can't be anywhere near that son of a bi-"

"Rose, honey," Alice soothed. "It's okay. We'll eat somewhere else."

Royce was waiting. He was leaning against the wall with a smile I'm sure some girl would find charming. But not me. Instead, it ignited a fury in me. A fury heighted by the fear I could see in Rose's eyes.

Royce pushed off the wall and I pushed Rose away from him. All I needed was ten seconds of courage I could never muster before. Royce tried to move around me but I placed a hand on his chest. It was only then he realized my presence.

"Bella, dear," he cooed. "To what do I owe this lovely pleasure?"

"Leave her the hell alone. Got it?" Apparently I wasn't the only one surprised by the venom in my voice as everyone in hearing distance stopped and stared.

Royce's relaxed manner turned rigid in an instant. He stalked closer and leaned towards me, lowering his voice so only I could hear. "What did you just say?"

I kept my voice steady and narrowed my eye. "You heard me." I took a step back and spun on my heel. He grabbed my arm but I jerked it away before he could get a good hold on it, not looking back as I walked down the hall.

I caught up with Alice and a teary-eyed Rose. She opened her mouth but closed it, shaking her head and letting tears fall. She tried again, but was unable to find the words. Instead she just opened her arms and let out a sob. I hugged her and tried to soothe her, telling her everything was going to be okay.

I let her go and pulled back to see her face. "Let's go find somewhere to sit, okay?" She nodded and wiped her mascara stained cheeks.

My phone buzzed in my pocket and I pulled it out, quickly checking to see if any teachers were in the hall. It was Edward.

**Are you insane, Sunshine?**

Well, word got around quickly at this school.

**I'm thinking maybe a little. **

**Are you okay?**

**Yes. I promise. I'll see you in math. We're going on an adventure for lunch. **

**We'll talk later. You girls have fun. **

We got our lunches and wandered the halls, finally finding a secluded spot in the hallway my old locker used to be in. Rose was deathly silent for most of lunch. Alice and I knew with one look at each other that we had to try to distract her from what happened and whatever thoughts were whirling around in her mind. It was only after my story about Jasper and his love of wedding shows, and Alice's resulting glare that we finally got her to crack a smile. By the time we parted ways to head to our lockers, Rose was able to mange a smile without our help.

Edward was waiting for me at our locker.

"Did you play nicely with the other kids?" He was teasing, but I could see a hint of worry in his eyes.

I stopped in front of him, leaning up on my toes to give him a quick kiss. "Of course. I always play nice."

Edward grinned and leaned against our locker. "I heard you slapped him across the face."

I felt my eyes widen. "Well this is brand new information." _Oh, but how I wished it were true._

Edward faked a dramatic gasp. "How could you _not_ do it? Think of all the people that would have hoisted you on their shoulders."

I stuck out my tongue and hip-checked him out of the way. "Because I'm a lady. That's why."

He kissed my forehead. "Yes, you are."

As soon as Edward shut our locker, he reached over to grab my books. I wasn't expecting it and one of my binders fell to the floor, lined paper exploding everywhere. Luckily, there weren't many witnesses. We put our books on the floor and leaned down to pick everything up. As soon as order was resorted in the hallway of Forks High, Edward picked up both stacks of books.

"Edward, what are you doing?" I knew exactly what he was doing. I should have asked him why instead of what.

"Trying to be romantic," he replied, rearranging the pile under his arm.

"Edward, you don't have to carry my books." I reached a hand towards the pile but Edward pretended to bite my hand as it got closer.

"Bella, please let me do this. Okay?" He grabbed my hand with his free one, lifting it to his lips before using it as a means to drag me to class.

Math seemed to drag by for everyone, it seemed, and Mr. Wilson noticed. It wasn't even halfway through class when he stopped mid-sentence and took something from his desk. He grabbed an empty desk and dragged it under the clock before climbing on top of it. He uncapped the black permanent marker and wrote **It's Time for Math!** on the protective plastic cover of the clock.

I think it wasn't until he climbed down that he realized what he did. He looked between the permanent marker in his hand and the clock before turning to face the class once again.

"None of you saw anything."

**~!~DBSYPWTBB~!~**

"Snowball fight. Guys versus girls."

"Bella, this is ridiculous."

"Really? So you're telling me that after the day you had, you don't want to throw things at boys, Miss Hale?"

Alice and I had captured Rose on the way to her car after school and dragged her into the nearby forest, recruiting her for our team for a snowball fight.

She rolled her eyes and cocked her hip. "I'm not saying that. I just haven't been around the guys that much since the break-up, and I don't know… wouldn't it be weird?"

Alice placed her hands on her hips in return. "Seriously? No, it wouldn't. Besides, we need you if we want there to be any chance of a fair fight. I'm not nearly fast enough and Bella has all the grace of a bull in a china shop."

I shot her a look. "Thanks, Alice."

She shrugged. "Well, you're just not very sneaky."

"It's true," Rose chimed.

"Well thanks to the both of you."

Rose sighed and zipped her coat up to her chin. "You're sure it won't be weird if they see me playing?

"Trust me, they'll be more surprised if they didn't see you playing," Alice promised.

Rose and Emmett both lived and breathed for competition, and we were capitalizing on that.

The night before, Jasper and I talked to Edward and Alice about our idea to have a snowball fight, but left out the whole concept behind it. Not that they would be against the plan; Edward and Alice wanted things to return to normal too, but we knew they wanted it to be on Rose and Emmett's terms, and Jasper and I already felt bad enough for meddling. We were the only two that knew that both Rose and Emmett would both be playing if our plan worked out.

I knew the only way Rose would say no to our snowball fight was if today ended up being too much for her. Luckily, she stayed in a good mood after lunch and until the end of the day, making her agree to play with little coaxing. Emmett, on the other hand, I'm sure needed little to none. Rain or shine, good mood or bad, if there was something he could win at, he was there. The fact his role was to do all the dirty work since Jasper and Edward "couldn't be mean to their girlfriends" was without a doubt the cherry on top.

"Bella?" Alice called. "Jasper's on the phone for you."

My heart started pounding, imagining the worst. Had Emmett not agreed to play? "Hello?"

I held my breath, waiting to hear we failed the mission. His voice crackled over the phone. "How are we supposed to know when to start?"

Apparently we missed that crucial part in our planning, yet I would take that over anything else that could have gone wrong.

Alice's phone started to slip in my mitten and I fumbled with it before getting a good hold of it again. I peeked over at Alice, who was watching me with a cocked eyebrow. I mouthed I was sorry and turned my attention back to the phone. "Um, are you guys ready now?"

"Yeah, for the most part."

I looked back at Rose and Alice. They nodded and started running.

"The game starts now."

All hell broke loose within a matter of minutes.

As soon as I caught up to Rose and Alice and gave Alice her phone back, we split up, jumping and ducking under the trees. It was only minutes after we split up that I heard Alice's distinct scream in the distance. It could only mean one thing. The guys had approached much quicker than any of us anticipated. I could feel my heart pounding against my chest and panicked. My first instinct was to drop to the ground and start crawling on my hands and knees. I had no idea why I did it, but my jeans were already soaked through so I just went with it. It ended up working out for the best, as I was able to sneak up on Edward, who was standing in a small clearing in the forest.

"Not very sneaky, my butt," I muttered to myself as I worked to form a snowball in my mittens. I peeked out from behind the tree I was hiding behind, silently celebrating the fact that his back was still towards me. He was a little further away then I would have liked, but I wound up and threw the snowball as hard as I could towards him. I ended up missing him completely. The snowball broke into harmless powder three feet to his left.

Edward's head whipped in my direction and he broke out into a fit of laughter. I'm sure I still had a horrified look on my face as I couldn't look away from my complete and utter ambush failure. His laughter never stopped as he stalked towards me. Instead of running away like I knew I should, my attention was captured by the blonde head that poked out from behind a tree on the opposite end of the clearing. She flashed me a smile and fully emerged, holding a snowball in her hand.

Edward noticed my distraction and turned to look over his shoulder, stopping in his tracks when he saw Rose. He turned to look at me, his eyes wide. "Bella, I didn't know. Jasper and I recruited Em - "

He stopped in his tracks as Emmett barreled into the clearing with some sort of battle cry coming from his mouth. The cry went silent as he realized he was face to face with Rosalie, both of them holding snowballs. Rose had a faint smile on her face before it turned to total confusion. She looked at me over Emmett's shoulder with a what-do-I-do glance.

This was our plan, but I had no idea what to do. Maybe it really wasn't a good idea. I should have considered Rose and Emmett more and scrapped the plan entirely. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. I was the world's worst friend, to both of them. Yes, Jasper did the plan with me, but it was my initial idea.

A few long, painful seconds of absolutely nothing passed by. It was then that I realized I was holding my breath. The first movement came from Emmett, who shrugged and lobbed his snowball at Rose, hitting her in the chest. If his target was on accident or on purpose, I didn't know.

Edward and I looked between the two of them, not acknowledging the fact that we had moved close enough to be in perfect throwing distance. Well, perfect distance for me.

Another scream sounded deep in the forest. This time it was Jasper's.

Emmett turned to look towards the sound, and Rose didn't waste a second. She ran forward, crushing the snowball in her hand to powder. I could tell her aim was to shove the snow down the back of Emmett's coat, but he turned at the last second, receiving a face full of snow. Rose gasped and covered her mouth while Emmett shook his head to get off the majority of the snow. There was another weird pause in the clearing while Emmett remained stunned. That was a good sign, I thought. We could tell he wasn't pissed by any means, but just stunned.

Edward decided to reciprocate Rose's actions on me, dumping an armful of snow over my head. I retaliated by trying to drag him to the ground. It didn't work out so well as Edward ended up being the one pinning me to the ground instead of the other way around. Rose tried to run over and come to my aid but Emmett dragged her down into the snow. I wrestled my left hand free and managed to shove snow down the back of Edward's pants, igniting the battle of the sexes once again.

It was only when we were all sufficiently soaked and out of breath that we made our way out of the forest and back to the parking lot. I still hated snow, but today was worth it as Rose and Emmett were actually acknowledging and trying to make the best out of each other's presence. With their love of competition, you couldn't tell by watching them battle during our snowball fight that they hadn't talked in weeks, but their timid smiles and little conversations I observed as we waited for Alice and Jasper gave me a spark of hope that maybe the plan worked out better than I originally thought.

Alice and Jasper finally emerged from the forest from a different location than the one we started in. Jasper looked dejected and Alice was biting back a smile.

"What the hell happened to you two?" Rose asked.

Jasper held up his foot to show us his soaking wet black sock. Alice couldn't take it anymore and broke into a fit of giggles.

"I lost my shoe."

**~!~DBSYPWTBB~!~**

It was Friday.

I sat on the couch in Edward's room, swinging my legs as I watched him get ready for the concert in Port Angeles. Well, he was essentially ready and the only thing he had left to do was find his camera. He was frantically searching, but I had found it 5 minutes ago. I tried to tell him it was on one of the numerous racks of CDs in his room, be he was too concentrated on looking for it that he didn't even hear me.

Edward put his hands on his hips. "I give up!"

He started walking towards me but stopped in his tracks when I said, "Colder."

"What?"

"Colder," I repeated.

He turned to scan the room once again. "You know where it is?"

"Yup."

He turned to face me once again. "And you let me keep looking?"

I threw my hands in the air in defense. "For the record, I did try to tell you." I kept my left hand in the air and used my right to point to the location of the camera. "It's over there."

He grabbed it and flung himself on the couch beside me. "Is it charged?" I asked.

He turned it on, frowning when the low battery light flashed. "No, but I can charge it in the car."

I looked up at his clock, surprised to see how much time had passed. "I've got to get going, Edward. Jasper's going to be here soon and Rose will be done with her shift shortly."

He glanced at the clock and wrapped his arms around me, keeping me on the couch with him. "We still have a few more minutes."

I snuggled closer to him. "Only five minutes though, then we really have to get going."

Once the five minutes were up, we made our way downstairs.

"Goodnight," I called to Esme and as she watched a movie in the living room. Carlisle was there too, but he was asleep on the couch after pulling a double shift at work. Esme wiggled out from underneath him, expertly putting a coach pillow under his head since her lap wasn't there for him anymore. She came over and wrapped me in a warm embrace.

"Goodnight, dear. Remember to ask you dad about dinner tomorrow."

I returned her hug. "I promise I'll ask first thing when I get home."

Jasper showed up as I was putting on my coat, and he was nearly bouncing in excitement. Esme noticed too and watched in amusement as the normally calm, cool, and collected Jasper Whitlock couldn't stay still.

"Have fun tonight," she told them. "And be safe."

"Where's the fun in safety?" Jasper joked. "You have to live every day like you're Glen Coco."

My mouth dropped and I turned to look at him.

"One chick show and one chick movie," he defended himself before I could say anything.

I pulled on my boots and opened the front door. "Goodnight again, Esme." I leaned up and gave Edward a quick kiss. "And you two have fun on your bro-date."

I had only taken a few steps down the driveway when I heard the door open behind me. "It's not a bro-date!"

I couldn't help but laugh. Edward and Jasper were prepared to fight 'till the death when Emmett gave us the two tickets, and since Alice and I really didn't care, we told them to go together. Ever since then, they had been more excited than kids in a candy shop at Disney World.

As promised, as soon as I walked in the front door I asked Charlie about dinner at the Cullens'. He agreed, loving the opportunity to have a good, hearty, homemade meal. Most nights, I did try to cook at home, but I could admit my cooking skills only went so far.

Rose arrived shortly after I got home, still clad in her work clothes. Tendrils of her hair had fallen from her bun and framed her face. She greeted Charlie with a smile and a hug before joining me on the couch. She stole the remote from me and turned the channel to one of her reality shows that I didn't understand. We did the standard general talking before slipping into gossip. Surprisingly, it was Rose who initiated it.

"Was it just me or did Emmett seem okay during the snowball fight?" Rose had a ghost of a smile on her face. I was relieved, to say the least. Rose didn't hate Emmett.

"Yeah," I said. "You guys seemed good. It was nice to see you talking again."

She nodded. "It was good to see him smile again. Really good. He deserves to smile." She nodded again softly. "That's who he is."

She inhaled deeply and let it out in a rush. Any hint of a smile slipped from her face. "It would be our 3 year anniversary today."

"Rose," I whispered.

"I really fucked it all up. I know I did. I know." That's when the tears started flowing.

I didn't know what else to say. This was not my expertise at all. When Alice and I comforted her after the break up, I was just winging it and letting Alice take the lead. I pulled Rose close and let her soak my sweater with tears. Once the worst had passed, she tried several times before actually calming down.

She had stopped crying but didn't make a move to leave my arms. What she said next surprised me. "So you and Edward, huh?"

"Rose." After just breaking down about Emmett, I really didn't think this was a good conversation topic.

"I'm serious. So you and Edward?"

"Are you sure you're okay talking about this, Rose?"

"I'm sure. This past week made me realize I need to start living again instead of letting mistakes I made in the past dictate my life."

I grabbed her hand and squeezed. I knew she had already felt the guilt of the break up, even before her breakdown earlier, but I was proud of her for finally admitting her mistakes aloud and for making an effort to move forward.

"Yes, me and Edward."

Rose cleared her throat and turned to look me in the eye. "So, have you two done it?"

"Rose!"

* * *

**So now for the announcement…**

**I originally planned this chapter to be very different as I anticipated writing another 3-5 chapters, but I came to the conclusion it's not fair to you guys to have to wait so long. Between school, work, and real life, it takes me so long to get a new chapter actually written the way I want it to be. That said; I am only planning to write one more chapter and an epilogue. I want to thank all of you who have stuck with me through this journey, and I hope you can all stick with me for just a little bit longer!**

**I will be doing a Q&A (similar to what I did with Fighting Temptation) so feel free to start asking questions now :). Some will probably be answered in future posts so you can wait until the very end to ask any questions you may have as well.**

**I wish you all a Happy Easter and I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!**


	14. Announcements

**Announcements**

1) I have officially made a website (yay!) so feel free to creep it if you wish. The link is found on my profile.

2) I am proud to announce I am one of the contributing authors for the 3rd Annual Fandom Charity event for LLS. This is a great cause and a great way to get involved in the fandom. For a **minimum $10 donation**, you can receive a compilation of stories by Twilight, Hunger Games, and Harry Potter fic authors. The event is running from now until August 15th for author submissions and **August 30th for donations**.

Without giving too much away, my piece will be a one shot that highlight the relationship between Bella and her brother, Emmett, as well as highlighting the relationship between Bella and her father, Charlie, who was recently killed in the line of duty.

Currently there are: 77 Twilight fic authors, 24 Harry Potter fic authors, and 14 Hunger Games fic authors. **That's 115 pieces for as low as $10! **You can't even get a book for that price nowadays! For more information on the cause and to donate please visit the link on my profile.

3) No worries, chapter 14 is in the process of being written.

I hope you all are having a great summer so far!


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